Once the trade of Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors officially goes through, as it’s expected following the NBA’s massive punishment, the LA Clippers will be receiving one of the more underrated wings in the NBA: Brandon Ingram. He is a two-time All-Star with a track record of offensive excellence on all three levels of the half-court.
However, because the Clippers lost five first-round picks to cap circumvention and need to restock as much as they can, the front office cannot sit back and enjoy the production Ingram brings. Instead, they need to explore trades, and Yossi Gozlan on the "Third Apron” brought up a good one: LA sending the 28-year-old to the Brooklyn Nets for one of the worst of their three 2027 firsts.
This is a great move that helps the Clippers’ future tremendously in the short term.
With three firsts, the Nets may give up one for Ingram with no hesitation
The Brooklyn Nets have a bright future, and there is no doubt about it. Mikel Brown Jr., who was on the LA Clippers’ radar during the draft process, is one of their franchise pieces, and they have several other notable young talents like Egor Demin, Danny Wolf, and Noah Clowney.
In the same breath, though, the Nets aren’t far off from play-in contention. Believe it or not, they do have Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle. These are two proven stars that could easily compete for at least the ninth or tenth seed in the Eastern Conference.
If they were to add in Brandon Ingram, that’s easily a big three that might fly under the radar, but could make a lot of noise. And to get him, while it may cost a first-rounder, they would still have two more to work with.
This means they would have the best of both worlds: enough draft capital in the upcoming draft to further their rebuild while posing a legitimate threat to other playoff contenders.
Hence, the Nets might accept the Clippers’ offer without even thinking twice.
Of course, LA would be happy. Not only would they add to their four first-rounders over the next seven years, but they would also obtain a potentially valuable pick in a draft where their spot involves a swap.
That’s a huge boost when you realize the 2027 class is expected to be extremely talented across every position.
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