There's been plenty of buzz surrounding the Utah Jazz and their offseason pursuit of Brandon Ingram. Recently, it has come out that Ingram turned down the Jazz because he didn't want to commit to them long-term. However, there appears to be more to it than that.
NBA Insider Jake Fischer confirmed the Jazz's interest on Marc Stein's Substack but added that the Jazz had their eyes on someone else.
"There was some preliminary conversation with Utah, sources said, since the Jazz are often prone to register exploratory interest whenever a top player becomes available. But Utah never engaged in significant trade talks for Ingram, sources said. I've heard it described by several sources with knowledge of the situation that Utah's trade pursuit of Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn was a far more substantive endeavor than anything Ingram-related."
Though Ingram was linked to the Jazz, they, too, were linked to Bridges beforehand, so this news isn't too shocking. Bridges was sent to New York instead and hasn't exactly proven the Knicks were right to give up the package they did for him.
Ingram would have probably been cheaper since he is on an expiring contract, and the Jazz could have brought him to a different level.
Would the Jazz have been better off with Ingram?
As long as it would not have cost them much, taking a flyer on Ingram wouldn't have been much of an issue. However, acquiring him would have come with some questions, most notably, what would be the long-term plan with him?
Ingram and the Pelicans are currently at an impasse because he wants a rich new contract, and the Pelicans are hesitant to give him that because though he's proven his talent, it hasn't translated into all that much for New Orleans.
The Jazz would have been dealing with that issue and then some since their plans aren't really to win all that much currently even with Lauri Markkanen on the team.
Bridges is an above average two-way wing, but likely won't make an All-Star team throughout his NBA career. Ingram has made an All-Star team and is capable of making another one, but that brings up another red flag with him: he's an injury-risk.
This all likely plays into why the Jazz entertained this to some degree but never really considered it. Ingram is a good player who could be vital to a playoff team, but that has only been on paper. Granted, one can argue that's the same case with Markkanen, who's never made the playoffs, but the Jazz are right to not invest in anything too substantial with the place that they're in.