The Bulls have had their ups and downs all-season and they are not the most desirable destination for any top free-agent at
the moment. The Chicago Bulls fan base is not enamored with Head Coach Jim Boylen but at least he finally made the switch and put Coby White in the starting lineup alongside Zach Lavine. Coby White was scoring over 20 points a night off the bench all season and left Boylen with no choice but to start him. Zach Lavine has been scoring like mad-man all season and it seems like every game the Bulls have won Zach Lavine has had a big scoring night. The man was averaging 25 points per game along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game which are superstar numbers if you ask me but every team on rebuild needs that 3rd piece to complete the puzzle and I think the Bulls should do everything they can to outbid the Pelicans for Brandon Ingram. Supposedly the New Orleans Pelicans will do everything in their power to keep Brandon Ingram in a Pelicans uniform but what if Brandon Ingram wants to take a different route?
Brandon Ingram has had games playing alongside Zion Williamson who was drafted number 1 overall and from the looks of it Brandon Ingram will have no chance at being the franchise player in New Orleans with Zion Williamson at the helm now. That is no disrespect towards Brandon Ingram, most would say Zion Williamson has a higher ceiling than Brandon Ingram but I think Ingram could be just as good it just can’t occur in New Orleans. There is only one ball and when you have 2 talents the caliber of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson someone will have to take a backseat and I don’t see why Brandon Ingram would want to do that at this point in his career when he just his his prime. Now you might say well what is the difference because Zach Lavine is the first option in Chicago just like Zion Williamson has become in New Orleans? Well Zach Lavine in all honesty is more of a co-star, his defense holds him back from becoming an elite player but with Brandon Ingram in Chicago I believe they would co-exist perfectly. Zach Lavine and Coby White can both work off Brandon Ingram and it could be a new version of Steph Curry,Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant all over again. Coby White and Zach Lavine are premier 3 point shooters and they aren’t on the level of a Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry but they are not too far off if you ask me.
I liken Coby White’s game to Chris Paul, he dribbles the ball very similar and squeezes his way in and out of traffic a lot like Chris Paul. He can get you 30-40 points any given night and has the work ethic to become one of the top guards in the league, Zach Lavine reminds me of a young Kobe Bryant minus the defense, and Brandon Ingram reminds me of a combination of Giannis Anteokoumpo and Kevin Durant. Not to say Brandon Ingram will reach the level of a Giannis Antetokoumpo or Kevin Durant but he is already averaging 24 ppg with 6 rpg and 4 apg at the age of 22 so signing him to a 5 year max would not be a bad idea. The New Orleans Pelicans have less leverage since they are paying Jrue Holiday close to 30 million a year and he is due for an extension soon, Lonzo Ball is due for an extension soon as well and I don’t ever see him becoming the level of a shooter of a Coby White. Coby White is a knock down shooter from mid-range and I believe will shoot 35 to 42 percent from the 3 point line for his career so I think Brandon Ingram would fit better alongside Zach Lavine and Coby White and would reap a lot of the same benefits Kevin Durant did in Golden State playing alongside elite sharpshooters Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.
Zion Williamson has took the NBA by storm and has established himself as the first option on the Pelicans the same way he did alongside Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett at Duke, not to mention he just got back from an injury and more than likely could be an MVP candidate next season, so where does that leave Brandon Ingram? Brandon Ingram could become an NBA MVP one day, I don’t see why he should look to play under the shadow of Zion Williamson when he can be just as good elsewhere. If I believed Brandon Ingram could not be a 1st option I would say him re-signing in New Orleans would be his best bet, we saw it with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James and how Dwyane Wade took a backseat to LeBron James to make the whole Big 3 experiment work through the coarse of 4 years, we saw Stephen Curry take a backseat to Kevin Durant in Golden State but Stephen Curry is a point guard Brandon Ingram is a small-forward who does not have the unselfish personality of a LeBron James or Stephen Curry. That is not to say Brandon Ingram is selfish and plays for himself, more like he needs his own team and the Bulls would be the best basketball fit in my opinion.
Brandon Ingram would be a perennial all-star in the Eastern Conference and start in a couple all-star games along the way, as of now the Eastern Conference boast some forwards who will challenge him for the starting spot in Jayson Tatum,Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Durant depending where they choose to play him being that he has the length and height to play the power forward position. Another reason I think Brandon Ingram needs to go somewhere he could be the 1st option is because through his short tenure alongside LeBron James I could see he was bothered about having to take a backseat to him in their first season together, Brandon Ingram once called for the ball on a mismatch in the post and LeBron waved him off and Brandon Ingram in frustration walked to the corner as LeBron drove to the basket and drew a foul. Prior to Zion Williamson returning this season Lonzo Ball made comments about keeping the Pelicans afloat in Zion Williamson’s absence and no one did a better job at making sure that happened than Brandon Ingram as he was given the opportunity to be a primary ball handler on the Pelicans something he was not able to do on the Lakers alongside LeBron James last season. I am sure Brandon Ingram and Zion WIlliamson would be interesting to watch I just think their games don’t fit, neither is a one-dimensional player. Zion and Ingram can both score,rebound,create shots for teammates but neither is what I would call a premier shooter leading me to think they’ll have trouble with spacing.
To conclude for all I know the Pelicans shell out a max for Brandon Ingram and win a couple titles within the next 5-6 years but I don’t think the roster is build correctly around Ingram and Williamson to make that happen. Lonzo Ball has made strides and has made himself into a more consistent shooter as he scored over 20 points a night a good 60 percent of the time this season but what to make of Jrue Holiday? Will he be around in the future? What is his role going forward? Is Holiday the 2nd option now or 3rd option? Are the New Orleans Pelicans focused on trading away Jrue Holiday and looking to build around Lonzo Ball,Brandon Ingram,and Zion WIlliamson? We will just have to wait and see what David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans’s front office looks to do in the off-season but I don’t see Brandon Ingram sticking around. This reminds me of Kawhi Leonard getting traded to the Raptors but ultimately dead-set on taking his talents to Los Angeles. Brandon Ingram was used by the Lakers as the main-piece to acquire Anthony Davis and I am not in his head at the moment but I don’t see him playing in the shadows of Zion Williamson going forward into the future. Coby White,Zach Lavine,and Brandon Ingram would bring the Bulls back to relevancy and maybe their first title since 1998 down the line, till next time.
D-NBA 