Brandon Ingram has been a key part of the New Orleans Pelicans, yet his future in New Orleans has been in doubt over the last few weeks. His camp has been unable to come to a consensus with the franchise during contract negotiations, which has caused many to believe he may hit free agency in 2025. Vice-President of Basketball Operations for the Pelicans, David Griffin shed some light on the situation and provided a positive outlook.
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Speaking to SiriusXM NBA Radio, he was sure to mention that both, Brandon Ingram and the Pelicans preferred for him to stay rather than leave. He then talked about how there is always a financial element to such conversations.
“From a relationship standpoint, I’m really clear that we’d prefer Bradon to stay with us. And Brandon’s been pretty clear he prefers to stay with us. At the same time, there is a financial reality to this, and where I think we could go in terms of keeping this group together… I think we’re committed to each other, I think we’re committed to seeing it work in a way that makes it make sense.”
Griffin also went on to talk about how teams from different markets get to hand out maximum contracts like they’re nothing. Unfortunately, New Orleans isn’t one of them, as they are unable to pay Ingram the money that he feels he deserves. Griffen added,
“In some markets, you don’t have to make any decisions: You get a max… We’re not that market. So, we’re going to have to make sure the fit is right and we’re going to have to make sure that we can keep the group together. So, if there’s a way we can do that with Brandon in a sustainable way, we want to do it. And I think he feels the same.”
"There is a financial reality to this”
Pelicans President of Basketball Ops David Griffin talks about Brandon Ingram contract negotiations with @TermineRadio, Ryan McDonough, and @TomCrean
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It is very hard to blame the Pelicans’ VP in this situation. After all, they finally have something good brewing at the moment, and it requires a financial sacrifice on part of every player to make it work. However, given just how great Ingram was last season, it makes sense why Sleepy B would want to be paid more.
Well, there seems to be enough here for both parties to reach a common ground eventually. However, this doesn’t mean that other teams won’t be keenly watching how this situation pans out. And if they detect the slightest crack, there will be multiple teams pouncing within the first few seconds of them to grab him. So, the New Orleans Pelicans better wrap this situation up quickly.
