The Miami Heat have been named the “best spot” to land Pelicans All-Star Brandon Ingram, per an article from Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey.
In an article published on September 16, Bailey argued that Ingram would be the ideal replacement for Jimmy Butler, who is widely expected to test free agency in 2025.
“If the Heat lose [Jimmy] Butler, the wisest path forward might be a slower build focused on Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. That team already has a pretty intriguing core beyond its superstar,” Bailey wrote. “On the other hand, there may be value in taking some pressure off those three, and Brandon Ingram’s mid-range game and playmaking skills could make him sort of a Butler facsimile.
“Of course, he’s not quite on the same talent tier, so having Ingram as a potential Butler replacement would require steps up from Herro and Jaquez, but Miami might be stylistically consistent.”
Brandon Ingram to Leave NOLA?
The chatter of Heat potentially replacing Butler with Ingram stems from a multitude of reasons. First, Ingram enters the 2024-25 season on the expiring contract, in the final year of his $158.3 million. The Duke product is eligible to sign a four-year, $207.8 million extension with the Pelicans before June 2025. However, the Pelicans are not willing to offer the forward a full-max deal, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
To make matters worse, Ingram skipped the Pelicans’ voluntary training camp in September 2024, hinting at his unhappiness with the franchise entering the season. According to The Athletic’s William Guillory, every member of the New Orleans roster attended the workout in California except for two players — Ingram and Daniel Theis. The latter had a valid reason for skipping the mini camp as he had just finished playing for Germany in the Paris Olympics.
Ingram’s decision to skip the camp shocked everyone in the Pelicans organization as he was the one who organized the voluntary event, per The Athletic.
“The Pelicans believed Ingram would be there, but he never showed, according to team sources” Guillory wrote on September 5. “This is an event Brandon Ingram has organized for his teammates several times in the past, so his absence stood out. The Pelicans hoped this minicamp would be the first time Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum and newly acquired point guard Dejounte Murray could all get on the court.”
Butler’s Last Season with Heat?
Much like Ingram, Butler faces an uncertain future beyond the 2024-25 season.
The Heat star owns a player option worth $52.4 million for the 2025-26 season but had not agreed to a contract extension with the Heat ahead of the 2024-25 season. According to multiple insiders, Butler plans to test free agency in 2025.
Furthermore, Miami Heat president Pat Riley hinted at a potential breakup with Butler while discussing the star player’s contract extension at the end of the 2023-24 season. In his season-ending interview, Riley sounded hesitant about the Heat offering Butler a max contract extension, while citing his recent injury history.
“We don’t have to do that for a year,” Riley said about Butler’s extension. “And so, we have not discussed that internally right now, but we have to look at that, making that kind of commitment. We haven’t made a decision on it. And we really haven’t really in earnest, discussed it. So we’ll just see what happens.”
To Riley’s point, Butler — who turns 35 in September 2024 — missed a combined 65 games between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons due to several injuries.
As such, Butler’s future in Miami, not to mention his potential to land a max deal, could depend on his durability in the 2024-25 season.
