Brandon Ingram Talks Pelicans Trade Rumors: 'None of It Bothered Me'
Rumors circulated ahead of the 2023 NBA draft that the New Orleans Pelicans were interested in potentially moving up the board to target Scoot Henderson, and Ingram's name came up as a possible trade candidate.
While Zion Williamson was more regularly mentioned as a potential outgoing piece, Ingram told William Guillory of The Athletic that he didn't think much of the rumors:
"With me, I'm not on social media that much. So people will make a joke about it sometimes, or hit me up and ask me what's going on with this thing they saw on TV. Most of the time, I'll hear from the front office when that stuff pops up and they'll tell me exactly what's going on and how to feel about it. Any information that's out there, they'll clarify it and tell me if it was true or false."
"I've got a good relationship with (Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin). He'll come straight to me and tell me anything. I'm not too into what everybody was putting out there, but none of it bothered me. I also know this is a business, though, and I've got to be prepared for anything."
Ultimately the Pelicans didn't deal either Ingram or Williamson, and will hope the pair can remain healthy. Ingram only appeared in 45 games last season, while Williamson was only available for 29.
Despite the pair missing a huge chunk of the season, the Pelicans still finished 42-40 and reached the play-in tournament, though they were eliminated in their opening game by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When healthy Ingram was excellent, averaging 24.7 points, 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 39 percent from three.
But injuries continue to hamper his career. He's only appeared in 70 or more games once in his seven seasons and hasn't played more than 55 games in either of the past two years.
Ingram said preparing himself in an effort to stay healthy is "my focus every single season," but added that "you can protect yourself, but you can't stop injuries."
"I've been trying to strengthen everything and build up my core," he added. "I feel stronger now when I'm moving around on the floor. You can't stop certain things from happening, but I am paying more attention to the things I'm putting in my body (or) recovery time. (I'm asking myself), what am I doing to help my injuries? Whether it's sleep or whatever else, I'm trying to make sure I stay on top of all of that."
The Pelicans are hoping it works. The trio of Ingram, Williamson and CJ McCollum has the potential to lead New Orleans back to the playoffs if they can stay healthy, even in the deep Western Conference.
If that doesn't happen, however, the Pelicans are going to have to reevaluate their core group. And that means that trade rumors could once again swirl around players like Ingram and Williamson.
"We have urgency going into every season," Ingram told The Athletic. "People look at our roster, and you can see we were the No. 1 team in the West at one point for a reason. I know people have used health and everything as an excuse for us. But we've got enough. We've just got to continue building our foundation every single day, making sure that when guys leave, we're still playing the right way."
