New report says Atlanta wasn’t interested in giving Brandon Ingram a new contract

Early in the offseason, the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans were discussed as trade partners that would make sense for each other. The Hawks were likely to part ways with guards Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, as well as potentially move Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu to center. Atlanta was also looking to add size and length at power forward. The Pelicans needed a point guard and center this offseason. It seemed like there was a potential deal there.

The two teams did indeed make a deal, but not the one most people thought. Atlanta sent Murray to New Orleans in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, EJ Liddell, Cody Zeller and two first-round picks. Brandon Ingram was not involved in the trade, nor were Atlanta’s centers.

Several people have said in recent days that the Hawks don’t seem particularly interested in acquiring Ingram this offseason. The most recent was William Guillory of The Athletic. Guillory covers the Pelicans and had this to say about the Hawks and Brandon Ingram:

“It turned out Atlanta had no real desire to give Ingram his next contract or move one of its top two centers (Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu), according to league sources.”

You can read the full article here.

On a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shed some light on the Hawks and Ingram when discussing the New Orleans Pelicans:

“The Hawks weren’t interested in Brandon Ingram.”

This isn’t really surprising. While Ingram could be considered a good player alongside Trae Young due to his size and ability to create his own shot, his contract is expiring and he’s reportedly seeking a max deal, which I’m not sure the Hawks are interested in paying. Ingram is a very good player, but he’s injury-prone and may not deserve a max deal.

With numerous reports coming from credible journalists, it’s safe to say that the Hawks aren’t willing to pay Ingram the maximum amount he wants, even if he made sense as a trade target.

On the day of Murray’s trade, Yahoo Sports NBA insider Jake Fischer said there had been no substantive discussions between the Hawks and Pelicans surrounding Brandon Ingram:

“Atlanta is another popular spot that league figures have pointed out for Ingram, but there haven’t been any substantive discussions between the Hawks and Pelicans, sources said, since the two teams discussed trade scenarios involving Dejounte Murray before the February trade deadline. Atlanta had focused on securing its first pick in this week’s draft, then the Hawks were determined to trade in the second round, sources said, because Atlanta ultimately got Nikola Đurišić. The Hawks should certainly now evaluate trade possibilities for Murray, All-Star guard Trae Young, Clint Capela and the rest of their rostered players not named Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher, sources said. Young has the Pelicans in mind as his next favorite possible teams, league sources told Yahoo Sports, in addition to the Spurs and Lakers, but Young’s fit has never made much sense for a situation in New Orleans that currently has CJ McCollum in its backcourt.”

It will be interesting to see when and where Ingram is traded, but it seems increasingly clear that it won’t be to Atlanta.