The New Orleans Pelicans 11-32 record this season has the team thinking about the organization’s future. With the playoffs out of reach, the Pelicans’ primary focus is the upcoming trade deadline. Star forward Brandon Ingram is one of the leading names thrown around as a trade candidate.

Ingram, who is in the final year of his current contract, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The two sides failed to agree on a contract extension, with Ingram seeking a maximum deal in the ballpark of $50 million per season. New Orleans attempted to find a trade partner during the summer, but there was little interest in his services at the time.

Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin discussed the difficulties of trading a player like Ingram this offseason, saying deals are ‘mechanically complicated’ because of the new CBA. With the trade deadline weeks away, New Orleans has little time to decide on his future. NBA insider Jake Fischer thinks the Pelicans re-signing Ingram next summer remains a possibility.

“I’m told that the Pelicans still remain open to re-signing Ingram this summer after the sides were unable to agree to a contract extension this past offseason,” Fischer wrote.

“Ingram, sources said, was not amenable to New Orleans’ offers that landed in the $40 million range in average annual value. Yet it could well be just as challenging for Ingram, who makes $36 million this season, to find that type of money available on the open market this summer.”

The Pelicans are currently slightly above the luxury tax threshold for this season and have never paid the tax in their history. How the team navigates Ingram’s situation will go a long way toward their commitment to winning. Thirteen of the last 17 teams that have won an NBA title paid the luxury tax that season. New Orleans has never made it past the second round of the playoffs in its history.

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