The LA Clippers have dealt with one of the most painful offseasons in NBA history. The conclusion of the Kawhi Leonard saga saw them docked five future first-round picks, and a bunch of the team's top personnel were suspended. Now, Leonard isn't even on the team anymore. His trade to the Toronto Raptors was recently completed, but now, the Clippers are left with a Brandon Ingram problem that they are going to have to learn.
At his best, Ingram is an All-Star. He's a great scorer, and he can do a lot on the offensive end of the basketball court. But unfortunately, teams around the league don't really value that type of player as much anymore. He's a mid-range-first guy, and that's not super popular in today's NBA, especially in a league where contracts as large as Ingram's are scary to most teams.
So, not only is Leonard gone, but now the Clippers are going to have to deal with the painful reality that Ingram isn't a very tradable asset.
Clippers are going to learn how little trade value Brandon Ingram has
The best way for the Clippers to recoup their draft picks is going to be to hit the trade market. That's why Darius Garland's name was immediately brought up as a trade candidate as soon as the Leonard saga concluded.
In a perfect world, Ingram is a name the Clippers can throw on the trade market as well. In theory, teams should be willing to dish out some first-round picks for a former All-Star.
That's how the Raptors got Ingram in the first place. They traded first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Ingram. But we live in a different world now.
The second apron runs everything. Teams don't want to spend money on players that they don't believe match their contract value. And Ingram is a perfect example of that type of player.
Ingram is going to make $40 million this year and has a player option for just over $41 million the year after that. That's a lot of money to spend on a player who doesn't necessarily fit the playstyle most teams are trying to enforce right now.
So, unless the Clippers can find a desperate team willing to give up first-round picks for Ingram, they are probably going to be stuck with this contract for the next two seasons.
That means they are going to have one less way of refilling their draft cabinet in the wake of the Leonard saga. And that’s a tough pill to swallow.
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