The days leading up to the NBA trade deadline on Thursday have come fast and furious, and that continued late Wednesday night as the Raptors acquired Brandon Ingram from the Pelicans.
The deal will see Ingram head north of the border, with the Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, one first-round pick and a second-rounder headed to The Big Easy, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Reports had first started to surface earlier in the night that a deal was coming down the pipeline involving Ingram heading to the Raptors before the full scope of the swap emerged.
Ingram had also been removed from the Pelicans’ bench on Wednesday night after the first half as trade rumors picked up, The Athletic’s Will Guillory reported.
Ingram has been off the court due to an ankle injury sustained in December.
He has played in just 18 games this season.
His production has still been impressive enough to warrant the intrigue from Toronto, which adds him on an expiring contract.
The Pelicans had not been able to come to an agreement with Ingram on an extension, prompting the decision to move on from him.
Ingram had been a member of the organization for six seasons after playing for the Lakers for the first three years of his NBA career.
The Athletic previously reported that the Raptors and the Hawks had been “neck-and-neck” in the sweepstakes to acquire Ingram’s services.
Ingram has averaged 22.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 5.6 rebounds and shot 37.4 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Brown — now headed to New Orleans — will be on his fourth team in the last three seasons after leaving the Nets via free agency after the 2021-22 season.
Brown is an unrestricted free agent after this season and is making $23 million this year.
