How different would the Timberwolves’ season be if they had acquired Brandon Ingram instead of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo? According to ESPN NBA expert Sham Charania, Minnesota showed a “level of interest” in Ingram before finalizing a deal with the Knicks.
“The Pelicans discussed trades with several teams over the summer, but no concrete offer made sense. There was some level of interest from the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources told ESPN, and they were going to have to put together a trade concept around Karl-Anthony Towns for Ingram,” Charania said Tuesday.
Ingram recently suffered a high ankle sprain and will be out indefinitely, but he has played at a high level for New Orleans this season. In 18 games, he’s averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 46.5/37.4/85.5 shooting.
Towns averaged $31.65 million in his previous deal and Ingram had a $33.8 million salary cap hit last season, so a Minnesota-New Orleans deal would likely be built around those two players.
Randle is averaging 20.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season, not far off Ingram’s mark; both players are in the final years of their respective contracts, though Randle has a player option for 2025-26 if he decides to use it instead of seeking free agency.
Minnesota also got DiVincenzo and a future first-round draft pick in the deal with the Knicks, but it’s unclear whether New Orleans would add anything to the package.