The Miami Heat may not be able to operate much in free agency this summer, but they still have some interesting trade packages available to them should they decide shaking up the lineup is necessary.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report on Tuesday, July 2, authored a trade proposal in which the Heat flip Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin via a sign-and-trade and a first-round pick in 2029 to the New Orleans Pelicans in return for Brandon Ingram.
“Ingram doesn’t have the high-volume three-ball the Heat would ideally want, but he checks a lot of other boxes. He is a scoring threat from all over the floor, and he can create something out of nothing for himself or his teammates,” Buckley wrote. “If Miami could maintain workable spacing … this offense would have plenty of creativity and downhill attacking from Ingram, Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Bam Adebayo. The Heat would also wind up longer on the wing and potentially even more disruptive with their zone defense.”
Although he is only a one-time All-Star, Ingram will almost certainly demand a max deal of four years and $208 million from his current team. However, William Guillroy of The Athletic reported last month that the Pelicans are unlikely to grant the combo forward his financial wish
“Considering their current and future financial situation, the Pelicans are unlikely to offer him that maximum deal this offseason, league sources tell The Athletic,” Guillroy wrote on June 3.
Guillroy added that the best way for the Pelicans to make a needed upgrade to the roster is to trade Ingram — particularly following a first-round sweep at the hands of the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 playoffs, during which defensive specialist Lou Dort swallowed up Ingram by holding him to 14.3 points per game on 34.5% shooting.
“After Ingram’s ineffectiveness against one of the Western Conference’s top teams — now and in the future — it took no time for questions to start popping up about his future,” Guillroy wrote. “There’s no question the Pelicans need to make some changes to the roster, and their best way to add a significant piece is to move Ingram in a trade this summer.
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