NBA: 3 teams that should target Brandon Ingram in free agency

1. New Orleans Pelicans

If there is an NBA team that has the best shot at signing Brandon Ingram, it is undoubtedly the New Orleans Pelicans. Aside from being able to offer him a maximum contract extension, the team has an ascending rookie phenom in Zion Williamson who is showing superstar potential, seasoned veteran Jrue Holiday, and all the other pieces needed to establish a winning culture in today’s NBA.

Losing Ingram in free agency would force the team to take a significant step back in their win-now timeline, something they cannot afford. This team looked special when they all played together briefly this past season and appeared to be just getting started as their chase for the playoffs heated up before the NBA season halted.

Being a restricted free agent, teams will undoubtedly throw max offer sheets at Ingram in an attempt to lure him away from New Orleans, but the Pelicans should match any of them without a single question asked.

A Big Three of Ingram, Williamson, and Holiday surrounded by pieces such as Lonzo Ball and Jaxson Hayes has the potential to be dominant within a few years, if not sooner. Because of this potential, New Orleans needs to ensure they can bring Ingram back by any means necessary and undoubtedly extending him to the max.

New Orleans was rooted in the race for the postseason behind Ingram’s play before the NBA suspended play, elevated even further with Williamson’s long-awaited NBA debut. This tandem has to be one of, if not the best young duo in the league, and could develop into something astonishing in the coming years.