Pelicans trade Ingram to Raptors

MANILA, Philippines — Brandon Ingram is heading to the Great White North.

The 27-year-old forward has been traded by the New Orleans Pelicans to the Toronto Raptors, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday afternoon (Manila time). 

Ingram will be shipped to the Raptors in exchange for Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, a first round pick and a second round pick, Charania said. 

Ingram averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season to go with 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks a contest.

However, he has been sidelined since December 7, 2024 with a severe ankle sprain. 

Ingram will be joining a young Raptors squad led by Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. 

For their part, Brown and Olynyk are expected to be a boost for New Orleans as well. The Pelicans earlier lost star Dejounte Murray for the remainder of the season to a torn right Achilles. 

Toronto is currently 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 16-35 win-loss record.

The Pelicans, on the other hand, are 15th in the West with a 12-39 slate. 

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers got their man in the middle. 

The Lakers traded rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, Charania reported. 

Williams is averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Hornets. He is expected to fill up the hole in the center position left by Anthony Davis, who was traded over the weekend for Luka Doncic. 

Knecht, for his part, averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while Reddish has numbers of 3.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game.