The Toronto Raptors have made a major splash by acquiring All-Star forward Brandon Ingram in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. This marks a significant turning point for the franchise as Ingram becomes the first star player to choose Toronto in his prime. The deal, which involved sending draft picks to New Orleans, was quickly followed by a three-year contract extension worth $120 million, showcasing the Raptors' commitment to building a championship contender. Despite his history of injuries, Ingram's talent and potential make him a valuable asset for the team as they aim to compete for a title.
How, you ask? In the team’s 30-year existence, Ingram will go down as the first all-star – or, in this case, former all-star – player to chart a course to Toronto in the prime of his career. Think about it. It had never happened before. The Raptors had primarily been homegrown stars, drafted and developed by the club. Tracy McGrady was also a Raptors draft pick and left before hitting his prime. Other acquired stars were far from their preferred destination at the time.
Hakeem Olajuwon signed here when the eventual Hall of Fame centre was long past his prime. Ingram is the first star to choose Toronto at or close to the height of his powers. Technically, the 27-year-old came over in the deal that sent Indiana’s 2026 first-round pick and a 2031 second-rounder to New Orleans at last week’s trade deadline, but given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent, he had some sway in where he ended up. No team was going to give up real assets for him without assurance that he would be willing to stick around long term. According to multiple reports and confirmed by TSN, Ingram had targeted Toronto or Atlanta as his ideal landing spots. Their familiarity with his representatives – Canadian agent Mike George and Rich Paul of Klutch Sports – allowed the Raptors to get a sense of his desire to play for the team and to have a rough framework of what it would cost to keep him. Sure enough, about a week after pulling off the surprising and somewhat polarizing move to land Ingram, the Raptors announced that they had signed him to a contract extension, worth a reported $120 million over three seasons (with a player option on the third year). 'It’s an exciting day for the franchise,” general manager Bobby Webster said at Ingram’s introductory press conference ahead of Wednesday’s game against Cleveland. “Brandon wanted to be here. We’ve been big fans of his for many years, dating back to high school and college days. We’re very fortunate to be able to bring him on board. It’s an important step as we rebuild this roster, continue to add talent to the core here.” An average annual salary of $40 million for a player with a lengthy injury history is by no means a bargain, but with his immense talent, the deal feels like a fair – and not unexpected – compromise. Historically, the Raptors have prioritized term over salary in contract negotiations and that was the case again here. Three years is the most that they could have offered in an extension, but less than the five-year deal he would have been eligible for in free agency. The player option is also something the team has been amenable to before. In this case, it gives Ingram the opportunity to hit the open market at age 29 and the incentive to stay healthy and reestablish his value in Toronto. Surely, he and his camp would have been looking for something closer to his $144 million max extension, while the team was more comfortable with a figure in the $100 million range. Landing in the middle was the most likely outcome, and the quick and straight forward nature of these negotiations speaks to the strength of this relationship in the early days. Ingram joined the Raptors on their recent road trip. He was expected to meet them in Houston over the weekend but made it to Oklahoma City the morning after last Thursday’s trade, anxious to get to work with his new team. Even at the best of times, the North Carolina native is reserved and soft spoken, and this past week has been a whirlwind, but you can sense his excitement. After six injury-plagued seasons with the Pelicans, he’s embracing his new surroundings. As a gesture of goodwill, Ingram waived his $2.1 million trade bonus. It doesn’t sound like much, but it will give Toronto more financial flexibility for the rest of the season, and he didn’t have to do it. “At the beginning of the year, every time the schedule comes out, the first team we mark is Toronto and I don’t think it’s ever for the team, it’s for the city,” Ingram said. “And also, I just felt that I needed a fresh start. A fresh start somewhere where guys played hard and they listened. I heard good things about Scottie , I heard good things about Quickley and I thought it was a good fit offensively and defensively. And Darko had a part in that too.” “He said he really likes oxtail in Toronto,” Rajakovic said of his newest player. “He really likes the city. He really likes our fans here. He really likes our young guys. He’s impressed with what he saw and the potential that we have here and he’s been embracing our culture.” When Ingram will debut for his new club is still up in the air. He is recovering from a severe ankle sprain that has limited him to 18 games this season and sidelined him since Dec. 7. There’s no rush to bring him back. According to Rajakovic, they’ll reevaluate his progress in two-week intervals, as in, don’t expect to see him before mid-March, at the earliest.
BRANDON INGRAM TORONTO RAPTORS NBA TRADE CONTRACT EXTENSION ALL-STAR NEW ORLEANS PELICANS FRANCHISE TORONTO NBA BASKETBALL
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