Warriors Could Trade for Potential $208 Million ‘Consolation Prize’: NBA Exec

Getty Warriors coach Steve Kerr could 'do wonders' for potential target Brandon Ingram.

The Warriors are on to the next phase of their offseason, having shed Klay Thompson and Chris Paul while bringing in a parcel of free agents to diminish the blow. In the end, the hope is that the team can get younger while also staying competitive around Stephen Curry in the Western Conference, and to that end, the Dubs have made a major push to get the Jazz to trade away big man Lauri Markkanen.

That push has pretty well made the media rounds.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on SportsCenter this week reported that (via CBS Sports), “Utah’s not sure it wants to trade him, but they have to listen. They’ve been listening. And a lot of the teams who lost out on Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn have transferred over to trying to see if they can land Lauri Markkanen out of Utah. Golden State is one of those teams.”

And The Athletic’s Tony Jones, on 95.7 in San Francisco this week, said, “Golden State has an offer on the table and it’s substantial [for Lauri Markkanen]. I think offers are heavily pick-based.“

Alas, Utah’s reluctance to trade Markkanen remains, and teams around the league have been getting the sense that the Jazz will need a major offer to force a deal. The Warriors can’t meet the price—at least not without sending off Jonathan Kuminga, a player they don’t want to trade. Thus, expect the Warriors to examine contingency plans.

One of those brought up by a Western Conference executive this week: Brandon Ingram.

Brandon Ingram Very Much Available on Trade Market

If the Jazz are being coy about trading Markkanen, the Pelicans have been quite blatant about their willingness to send Ingram, who has struggled with injuries in his career, elsewhere in a trade.

“It is obvious they want Markkanen because he’s a 7-footer who can shoot, and for everything they’ve done to change the game over the last 10 years or so, the way they pushed the 3-(pointer), they have not done it with a big guy who was a great shooter,” the exec said. “They did it by going small. They want to be able to go big and still have five shooters out there.

“But, we all want that. There just aren’t enough bigs who can shoot. So the next best thing is get a big wing who can shoot. And when Ingram is healthy, he is a tough, tough scorer. I think Steve Kerr would do wonders for him.  He would be a good consolation prize. The cost is not going to be that great, he is not going to bankrupt your future.”

Indeed, where the Warriors are reluctant to give up draft picks plus Kuminga in a deal for Markkanen, they would be much more willing to give up one first-rounder in their pursuit of Ingram. It could cost them Andrew Wiggins (whom the Warriors hope to trade) and Moses Moody, plus a pick, but it would be a more reasonable price than Utah is asking for Markkanen.

Warriors Could Use Positional Versatility

No doubt, Ingram is a player with star ability. He has put up one All-Star season, in his first season with the Pelicans back in 2019-20, but since then, Ingram has struggled to stay healthy. In the past four seasons, he has missed nearly 30% of the Pelicans’ games (225 out of 318 games). After averaging a career-high 24.7 points in 2022-23, he dropped to 20.8 points this year.

But he is 6-foot-8 and while he is not a great defensive player, he is capable of guarding multiple positions and can knock down shots from the 3-point arc. He struggled as a shooter last year (35.5% on 3s) but shot 38.6% on 6.2 attempts per game in his first two seasons with the Pelicans.

If a coach pushed 3-point shooting with Ingram—and Steve Kerr would—he would likely be rewarded. The big problem, though, is that Ingram wants a long-term extension, and it’s an open question whether the Warriors would give it to him.

Ingram is eligible for a four-year, $208 million extension, and the Pelicans do not want to give it to him. Would the Warriors? Maybe, but first they’d have to trade for him.