NBA Rumors: Raptors' RJ Barrett Was Offered to Pelicans in Brandon Ingram Trade

The Toronto Raptors were reportedly willing to lose RJ Barrett at February's trade deadline, and that means they could look to trade him again during the upcoming offseason.

On Monday, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype reported Toronto discussed including Barrett in the trade that landed it Brandon Ingram. However, the New Orleans Pelicans instead "preferred the expiring contract of Bruce Brown and stretch-five center Kelly Olynyk, who's owed $13.45 million next season."

New Orleans also already had Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones on the wing, which meant fitting Barrett in as a primary piece of the rotation would have been difficult.

With those talks as the backdrop, Scotto suggested "Barrett could be a trade candidate to monitor this summer" given the overall roster outlook in Toronto. He explained the Raptors are looking to build around Ingram and Scottie Barnes with Grady Dick on the perimeter and could move the Duke product's contract.

Barrett is signed through the 2026-27 campaign and is set to make $27.7 million in base salary in 2025-26 and $29.6 million in base salary in the final season of his deal.

That is a significant financial commitment for someone who may not be in the team's long-term plans, and Barrett's play this season means the Raptors could get plenty in return.

He is averaging 21.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from deep. He is also just 24 years old and figures to remain a prime producer for the foreseeable future, which could make him intriguing to a team that needs depth on the wing in the middle of a competitive window.

As for the Raptors, they were 25-57 last season and sit at 19-42 this season. Even with the addition of Ingram at the trade deadline, it is clear they still need to make some moves to return to the top of the Eastern Conference in future seasons.

Trading someone like Barrett could either help them get a veteran player in return who would fit in with the current roster makeup or perhaps multiple draft picks if they went more toward the accelerate a rebuild strategy.

While trade talks including Barrett didn't go anywhere ahead of the deadline, it seems like more are in store during the upcoming summer.