One of the more surprising bits of intel that came out about the Utah Jazz last offseason was that they had their sights set on New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram. Nothing ultimately came of that, and it was later revealed a few months later why.
Ingram had reportedly shut down trade talks because he would not commit to Utah long-term. Ingram is certainly not the first player to do this. Still, interestingly, he chose this even though there's a legitimate possibility he might lose a lot of money due to his upcoming unrestricted free agency and his uncertain future with New Orleans.
Ingram's definitely talented, but it hasn't translated into much individual or playoff success now that he has been in the NBA for nearly a decade. Part of that is because he's injury-prone, and that's not his fault. On paper, he was a good buy-low candidate for the Jazz as a partner for Lauri Markkanen but obviously wasn't worth the flyer since he couldn't promise to stay.
With all of that out there, it appears another tanking team just like the Jazz has their sights set on Ingram.
The Raptors now want Ingram
Marc Stein confirmed yesterday that the Raptors have considered acquiring Ingram to pair him up with Scottie Barnes. The Raptors are among the Jazz's biggest tanking competitors this season, which wouldn't make much sense because their season is pretty much over, just like Utah's, but they're entitled to do whatever they want.
The question is, if Ingram didn't want to stay long-term with the Jazz, would the Raptors really be much better for him?
Utah has a reputation for not being a players' destination (which Lauri Markkanen has spoken out against), but it's not like Toronto is much better in that regard. They've lost several stars who decided they didn't want to play there, from Tracy McGrady to Vince Carter to Chris Bosh to Kawhi Leonard.
This is nothing against the Raptors as a franchise because, like the Jazz, they have success to their name, if not more so. This is more about Ingram because the question is, is Toronto that much better as a trade destination than Utah?
One can argue that they are, but like the Jazz, the Raptors play in a small market and are not a good team. The main selling point is that Toronto can give Ingram the money he wants, but Utah would have done the same.
This is why Utah should be very curious about how this Ingram situation shakes out, even if their attempts to trade for him are yesterday's news. Maybe Ingram has changed his tune a bit, but it'd be confusing to see him not put his foot down on going to Toronto like he did with Utah for the same reason.
It'd be safe to assume that the Raptors wouldn't be dumb enough to trade for Ingram at this point unless they knew he was staying long-term. Perhaps Ingram sees the Raptors as a different situation from the Jazz entirely, but anyone in Utah would love to know the difference.