As usual, Duke basketball will get its share of headlines at the NBA Draft on Wednesday night.
The first round should include two NBA Blue Devils coming off the board in Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski.
But that may not be the night’s biggest news involving a Duke basketball name.
After all, in a relatively weak year for the draft, a blockbuster trade has the potential to steal the show. Meanwhile, judging by a report from league insider Marc Stein and growing chatter the past few months, 2015-16 Blue Devil one-and-done forward Brandon Ingram is arguably the NBA star most likely to be on the move this week.
Ingram averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists for the 2023-24 Pelicans. Starring alongside a fellow NBA Blue Devil in 23-year-old forward Zion Williamson, the 26-year-old Ingram helped lead New Orleans to a 49-33 record, the franchise’s most wins in a season since 2017-18, and the squad reached the NBA Playoffs.
Nevertheless, with only one year left on his contract, Ingram is an attractive piece for the Pelicans to potentially trade.
And as SI’s Ryan Phillips explained on Tuesday night, New Orleans seems to feel it has maxed out its potential with Ingram as a co-star alongside Williamson and CJ McCollum:
“The Pelicans are looking to shake things up after being swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were eliminated in the play-in tournament in 2022 and lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in 2021. The core trio of Ingram, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum hasn’t gotten it done so far.”
On July 6, 2019, the former No. 2 overall draft pick, now a one-time NBA All-Star, was part of the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade. It sent Brandon Ingram from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Pelicans.
Perhaps the five-year anniversary of that trade won’t arrive before he is part of another one.
