Following the New Orleans Pelicans’ humiliating four-game sweep at the hands of the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA playoffs’ opening round, the team is anticipated to make some significant changes this summer in an effort to contend with the best teams in the Western Conference.
All indications point to the Pelicans transferring star player Brandon Ingram ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and have a second round on Thursday. It appears as though the franchise has given up on the prospect of Ingram living up to expectations in New Orleans.
Moving Ingram appears to be the team’s main priority going forward, though it may not be easy given that the former No. 2 overall pick is coming off a subpar postseason campaign.
Even if the franchise plans to trade Ingram, Naji Marshall may have played his final game with the Pelicans, according to Forbes’ Evan Sidery. As NBA free agency approaches after this week’s draft, New Orleans will likely need to address other areas of the squad.
Unless he receives offers on the open market that the Pelicans are hesitant to match, Marshall may still be a guy the team wants to have on the roster for depth even though he isn’t a game-changer for the team.
Marshall, in his fourth season with the Pelicans, averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc and 46.3% from the field in 66 games.