The Miami Heat’s prospects in free agency this summer are constrained, but they do have intriguing trade options available if they decide a roster shake-up is necessary. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed a trade on Tuesday, July 2, suggesting the Heat send Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin (via a sign-and-trade), and a 2029 first-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Brandon Ingram.
“Ingram doesn’t have the high-volume three-ball the Heat would ideally want, but he checks a lot of other boxes. He is a scoring threat from all over the floor, and he can create something out of nothing for himself or his teammates,” Buckley wrote. “If Miami could maintain workable spacing, this offense would have plenty of creativity and downhill attacking from Ingram, Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Bam Adebayo. The Heat would also wind up longer on the wing and potentially even more disruptive with their zone defense.”
Ingram is entering the final season of a five-year, $158 million contract in 2024-25 and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer if New Orleans does not extend him. Despite being a one-time All-Star, Ingram is expected to seek a max deal of four years and $208 million from the Pelicans. However, William Guillroy of The Athletic reported that the Pelicans are unlikely to offer him that maximum deal due to their financial situation.
“Considering their current and future financial situation, the Pelicans are unlikely to offer him that maximum deal this offseason, league sources tell The Athletic,” Guillroy wrote on June 3.
Guillroy added that trading Ingram might be the best way for the Pelicans to upgrade their roster, especially after their first-round sweep by the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 playoffs, where defensive specialist Lou Dort held Ingram to 14.3 points per game on 34.5% shooting.
“After Ingram’s ineffectiveness against one of the Western Conference’s top teams — now and in the future — it took no time for questions to start popping up about his future,” Guillroy wrote. “There’s no question the Pelicans need to make some changes to the roster, and their best way to add a significant piece is to move Ingram in a trade this summer.”
Although the Pelicans recently traded a couple of first-round picks and players like Larry Nance Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks for former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, trading Ingram remains a strategic move if they are not interested in paying him top dollar. Ingram, who will be 27 next season, is a high-level scorer with a career average of 20.8 points per game last season, despite a recent knee injury. He has shown his scoring prowess with a career-high 24.7 points per game in the 2022-23 season.
Ingram is also a decent playmaker, averaging 5.7 assists last season and 4.3 assists per game over his eight-year NBA career. At 6-foot-8, he is a reasonable rebounder, averaging 5.2 boards per game. Ingram is a serviceable three-point shooter at 36.2% from behind the arc on 3.7 attempts per game for his career. Transitioning to the Heat might require him to increase his three-point attempts, but this should not be a significant issue for a seasoned jump shooter like Ingram.
Acquiring Ingram would provide the Heat with a more consistent offensive threat than Herro, as Ingram connected on 49.2% of his field goal attempts last season compared to Herro’s 44.1%. Additionally, the Heat need to consider the future of Butler, who did not come to terms on a contract extension this summer and will hit unrestricted free agency next offseason unless a deal is reached.
Adding Ingram could bolster the Heat’s offense and improve their competitiveness in the Eastern Conference in the 2024-25 season. Signing Ingram to a long-term deal would also pair a wing scorer with legitimate defensive length alongside Adebayo, who recently signed a max deal with Miami. The Heat could explore a sign-and-trade option with Butler next summer if they decide to move on from him, potentially bringing in assets or signing Butler to a more team-friendly contract.
While this scenario isn’t perfect for the Heat, trading a first-round pick five years down the road, along with Herro and Martin (who has opted out of the final year of his contract and is likely leaving South Florida), for Ingram could make Miami a more competitive team immediately.
