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New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram and head coach Willie Green “had a minor exchange” in the locker room during the team’s Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported that Ingram told Green “he wanted the ball and wanted the coach to help facilitate that.”
Ingram had 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting in New Orleans’ lopsided 124-92 defeat to OKC on April 24. If the conversation the 2019-20 All-Star and Green came during halftime, then it looks like the coaching staff adjusted somewhat. Eight of Ingram’s shot attempts were in the second half.
Charania’s report comes as Ingram’s long-term future in New Orleans is increasingly the subject of speculation.
The 26-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and charting his value to the Pelicans beyond 2025 is tricky.
On its own, giving Ingram a full max contract might be a tough pill to swallow because he hasn’t proven to be a true franchise cornerstone or a really good secondary scoring option on a championship contender. He has also appeared in 70-plus games just once since entering the league in 2016.
For New Orleans, there are also the concerns over Ingram’s fit in the same backcourt as Zion Williamson since both look to operate predominantly inside the three-point arc.
If there was any doubt, Williamson showed this season he’s the one player around whom the front office should construct the roster. He stayed relatively healthy, appearing in 70 games, and his 40-point, 11-rebound effort in the play-in tournament loss to the Los Angeles Lakers offered the full Zion Williamson Experience.
On its own, Charania’s report doesn’t sound like a cause for concern or something bigger that definitively says Ingram’s days on the Pels are numbered. But it does play into what’s becoming a larger discussion.
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