David Griffin’s ‘urgent’ offseason message adds to Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram trade buzz

Said the Pelicans’ Executive VP of Basketball Operations, “In the past, we’ve always erred on the side of continuity, and our takeaway has always been let’s see this group healthy. I think we’ve seen it enough; I think we had some really good opportunity to see Zion play a career-high in games, I think we saw it for segments of time well enough to understand that we’ve got a lot of work to do. Because it’s a historically good Western Conference, there are teams that didn’t make the playoffs that are going to get radically better this offseason. We need to do the same. I think you’ll see a real sense of urgency from all of us to do that.”

What those changes may be are anyone’s guess, but the Pelicans do have some pieces to work with.

Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram on the trade block?

Griffin’s comments come on the heels of an underwhelming postseason performance by Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram.

In four playoff games, Ingram averaged 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game on 45 percent true shooting. If you add in his two play-in games, those numbers combine for an equally uninspiring 16.3/4.7/3.8 on 47.2 percent true shooting.

While Ingram is a very talented player who is capable of getting to his spots on the outside and providing a midrange threat next to Williamson and 3-point sharpshooter CJ McCollum, there are questions about his fit next to Zion.

When Ingram and Williamson share the floor together, their skillsets are somewhat redundant. Both of them are offensively slanted players who work better with the ball in their hands and can’t space the floor from the perimeter.

Ingram is a very specific type of player, and that’s not a bad thing, but it does mean that a team needs to be carefully constructed around him. While he’s not a poor spot-up shooter per se, he instead greatly prefers to dribble to hit spots, halting the flow of the offense.

The Pelicans could be better served with a slightly less talented wing that is a bit more of a proper fit next to McCollum and Williamson.

A four-game stretch is probably not a big enough sample size to sour the front office’s admiration for what Ingram has meant to the organization. That still probably won’t stop the Pelicans and Ingram from facing another summer of uncertainty amid trade chatter. The Duke Blue Devils alum is eligible to sign a four-year extension worth $208 million this summer.