Even for teams who are rebuilding, if there's a chance to get an All-Star for cheap, they'd be fools to pass it up. The Utah Jazz tried to get Pelicans star Brandon Ingram during the offseason. That never went anywhere because Ingram reportedly couldn't commit to Utah long-term.
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto explained further what went down between the two sides during the offseason, revealing what the Jazz were offering in exchange for Ingram.
"Before Brandon Ingram essentially shut down exploratory trade talks between the Jazz and Pelicans because of his unwillingness to re-sign in Utah long-term, the two teams kicked around the concept of John Collins heading to New Orleans as part of a trade package along with unspecified draft pick compensation," Scotto reported.
Ingram for Collins would have made some sense for both sides, as the Pelicans needed a big, while the Jazz could get rid of Collins' contract by getting an All-Star caliber player cheaply. Even with Ingram's struggles to stay healthy, that's a risk the Jazz clearly were willing to take.
With how low Collins' value was at the time, the Jazz may have had to give up more draft picks had talks gotten serious than now if they re-visited talks, where his value has risen high enough that they shouldn't have to attach a pick with him in a trade for someone like Ingram since his issues remain the same.
The Jazz are better off without Ingram
On paper, it wasn't the worst idea to get Ingram at the time since his trade value was low. He could have been a good partner-in-crime to Lauri Markkanen while the Jazz simultaneously tried to get a high lottery pick. In fact, there was some upside for Ingram himself if he had come over.
But look where Ingram and the Pelicans are now. The Pelicans are desperately trying to get rid of him because they don't want to pay him the contract he wants. That's a problem the Jazz would have had to deal with had Ingram.
Also, now everything is going the Jazz's way in terms of tanking. Even if Ingram is injury-prone, he may have gotten in the way of that. For as bad as things have turned out for the Jazz, they've shown the NBA that they are a competent team. If Ingram had worked out, they might have the ninth- or tenth-best lottery odds at the moment instead of the fifth.
Plus, Collins' resurgence has been one of the best stories for the Jazz this season. There's no telling if Ingram would have made for a good story himself.