Pelicans unwilling to trade Brandon Ingram for Kevin Durant

If Kevin Durant gets moved, the New Orleans Pelicans could be players in the sweepstakes, but that would likely require them to surrender Brandon Ingram. League sources say the Pelicans are unwilling to do so. Ingram is nine years younger than Durant, and in terms of annual average value, he costs approximately $15 million less.
Source: CHRISTIAN CLARK @ New Orleans Times-Picayune

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Another report Pelicans unwilling to put Ingram in trade for Durant nba.nbcsports.com/2022/08/16/ano… – 5:50 PM StatMuse @statmuse
Brandon Ingram in the 2022 playoffs:
27.0 PPG
6.2 RPG
6.2 APG
48/41/83%
Small sample size but only 3 other players in NBA history average 27/6/6 or better in the postseason. pic.twitter.com/lLkhbhmi16 – 4:58 PM Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
For @The Vertical: Kevin Durant, the Nets and an inflection point for the NBA’s player empowerment era.
sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durant-t… – 2:01 PM Sam Amick @sam_amick
What have we learned about star player trade demands in the past? From the Melo-drama to Chris Paul in New Orleans, the Dwight-mare, Harden, Ben Simmons and more – all the way to Kevin Durant. A deeper look at 10 examples with takeaways, at @TheAthletic
theathletic.com/3509122/2022/0… – 11:07 AM Brady Hawk @BradyHawk305
🚨New @5OTF_🚨
@GregSylvander and I quickly go through the news of the day such as Kevin Durant and UD
Then we get into all things Max Strus:
@5ReasonsSports
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fiv… – 10:22 AM Cameron Tabatabaie @CTabatabaie
Not sure there was a way KD could have really answered this question in a satisfactory way, or that he even needs to. But that response is dismal. pic.twitter.com/xQh76Se1qc – 10:22 AM Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Kevin Durant says he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon sportando.basketball/en/kevin-duran… – 9:47 AM Christian Clark @cclark_13
Brandon Ingram and Zion have played in 81 games together, 59 of which came in the COVID-compressed, SVG-coached season.
Why I think it’s unlikely the Pels enter the KD sweepstakes + 5 early questions as we inch toward training camp. nola.com/sports/pelican… – 9:16 AM Peter Vecsey @PeterVecsey1
This just in: Steve Nash said he’d rather retire than coach Kevin Durant. – 11:33 PM Dave Mason @DeuceMason
We are LIIIIIIIIVE!
Talking NBA schedule, Pete Carril and the latest on KD:
https://t.co/8gdu2GKNSu pic.twitter.com/EDcSriUXV1 – 9:57 PM NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
KD and Tatum in the lab together 🤝
(📸: @bredhampton) pic.twitter.com/1wj1IgayC0 – 9:22 PM Evan Sidery @esidery
There is a precedent where a superstar doesn’t get what he wants in the end. Paul George desired the Lakers, but Indiana traded him to OKC.
As the Kevin Durant saga continues, a few teams could come out of nowhere in similar fashion (via @basketbllnews): basketballnews.com/stories/nba-tr… – 8:39 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Kevin Durant pushes back against retirement rumor amid #Nets drama: ‘S–t is comical’ nypost.com/2022/08/15/kev… via @nypostsports – 8:35 PM Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Of course the NBA schedule is gonna drop while I’m on a flight to Hawaii. It was either that or a KD trade – 7:27 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Durant shoots down ‘rumor’ he would rather retired than play for Nets nba.nbcsports.com/2022/08/15/dur… – 6:37 PM Sean Highkin @highkin
Just can’t get interested in Durant updates anymore until he actually gets traded. – 6:31 PM Kevin Durant @KDTrey5
I know most people will believe unnamed sources over me but if it’s anyone out there that’ll listen, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Shit is comical at this point. – 5:48 PM Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
New @FrontOfficeShow is up! @Trevor_Lane and I fire the Kevin Cannon and talk some KD news, then we get into the NBA Christmas Day schedule. And to wrap the show, we talk about the Detroit Pistons offseason! Watch, like and subscribe below. 20K subs soon!
youtu.be/jbDeDlCd0D0 – 4:19 PM NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
Iggy weighs in on KD 👀
(via @pointforward) pic.twitter.com/T2UodaVnLA – 3:41 PM

More on this storyline

Ingram and Williamson are cornerstone pieces. The Pelicans want to see how they jell. Training camp is six weeks away. It is possible the Pelicans’ roster changes before then. But don’t expect any earth-shattering moves. -via New Orleans Times-Picayune / August 16, 2022 NBA Central: KD in Saint-Tropez 🔥 (h/t @NetsKingdomAJ ) pic.twitter.com/0cekT1Fy2h -via Twitter @TheNBACentral / August 16, 2022 Among the executives with whom I spoke, a Boston deal with Jaylen Brown as the centerpiece appears to be the unofficial front-runner here. In general terms, sources say the Nets are using the fact that the Celtics (and perhaps other teams) have made their second-best player available as a baseline of sorts in negotiations. Translation: If you’re still trying to discuss a Kevin Durant deal without putting your second-best talent on the table, then just stop wasting everyone’s time and bow out of this race. -via The Athletic / August 16, 2022 “The thing that people don’t realize is when you make decisions like that — so some people who don’t understand winning… would say, ‘But Brandon Ingram has been an All-Star, so that was the wrong move,’” Draymond Green said. “But if you understand winning, what I say is, ‘But they won a championship.’ So, regardless of what your thoughts could be on that topic, they won a championship, and that automatically trumps everything.” I’m not sure that team still wins if they keep B.I. over you because of the skill sets,” Green said. “All of these pieces have to fit in. What you brought to that team…you and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were the shooters.” -via YouTube / August 10, 2022 The New Orleans Pelicans remain interested in a deal for Kevin Durant, according to a source, and can put together a compelling package around All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, role players like Herbert Jones, Devonte Graham and Jose Alvarado, and the remaining draft compensation they received from both the Los Angeles Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Jrue Holiday trade. -via New York Daily News / August 9, 2022