NBA free agency: Is Brandon Ingram a trade option for the Lakers?

The days and hours leading up to free agency seem to be setting the stage for something really big for the Lakers, with D'Angelo Russell agreeing to a contract opening up trade options and LeBron James' willingness to take a pay cut expanding his free agent options.

But the Lakers remain unchanged as of July 8. The team's free agent targets have turned them down and trade options have not materialized. It's unclear whether this is due to the new CBA or waning interest in Russell and other Lakers players on the trade market.

The Lakers are operating without much urgency as a team, which is understandable to some extent — they just hired their first head coach and are talking about player development — but as long as LeBron James is on the team, they're going to compete for titles.

So where do the Lakers go from here? While LeBron has ended his free-agent flexibility (and so has the market), there are still trade options available. And one very intriguing name could be old friend Brandon Ingram.

The Pelicans are at a crossroads with Ingram's contract, as he is in the final year of his deal and is seeking a maximum of $208 million over four years, but New Orleans was unwilling to meet that commitment and it seemed likely going into the offseason that the two sides would part ways in a trade.

But like the Lakers, New Orleans struggled to navigate the offseason. On Monday, Athletic I wrote an article about the Pelicans not having the option to trade for Ingram.

He specifically mentioned the Bucks and Clippers as teams participating, but could the Lakers also be involved?

One of the key takeaways from this article is that the Pelicans are looking for a big man to pair with Zion Williamson, which immediately puts an obstacle in any potential trade with the Lakers: they don't have a legitimate center they could trade to the Pelicans, not with Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood.

But don't rule him out entirely — New Orleans also likely won't have much interest in D'Angelo Russell given the way their roster is constructed — and they could reassign him to the third team as a center.

New Orleans also seems to be feeling the pressure. The longer they wait to sign Ingram, the lower the price will be. Can they get Ingram in the final year of his contract for the season?

The details of a trade could be worked out, but the financials are possible: The Lakers have the draft picks needed to make a trade or swap and are accustomed to putting together big deals with the Pelicans' front office.

This part, like any trade, will be tricky. The Lakers will have to get a third team involved to find a center or hope the Pelicans get a little more desperate. This isn't to discount the point, but there's a reason Ingram is thriving on the court, and that will be a key factor.

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JJ Redick wants to use LeBron James more off the ball, which has put a premium on acquiring a point guard to replace D'Angelo Russell, but Ingram's ability to handle the ball from the wing position could be the solution.

He's not the same player he was in his last stint with the Lakers, a player with a higher usage rate, a much higher 3-point shooting percentage, and a talent that wasn't the defender he was meant to be, but developed into a great offensive talent.

If you're looking for a player who can create his own shot in addition to playmaking and take some of the pressure off LeBron in that regard, Ingram could be that guy.

His reputation has been steadily declining since last year due to his poor performance with the U.S. national team, and he has had an unsettled season since then due to injuries and struggling to fit in with Zion.

Injuries are part of the calculation. Ingram played in 64 games last season, his most since his rookie year with 79. He has had more seasons without reaching the 60-game mark (four) than he has played more than 60 games (three).

But they would be buying cheap a player who will only be 27 at the start of next season. They would have to do so with the understanding that he would agree to a max contract extension that would pay him $50 million. This is a hard truth to swallow, and next season will be really tough with Anthony Davis already under contract. The Lakers would need LeBron to opt out of his contract and take a big pay cut to benefit the team and avoid a second apron.

Maybe that's just too big a hurdle to overcome. The second apron is so tough, it's a big commitment even if the Lakers are only there for one season before LeBron retires.

All of this is based on the assumption that the Pelicans are interested in assets owned by the Lakers, but if Milwaukee and the Clippers are close to getting involved as Guillory reports, the Lakers could be involved soon.

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