Cavs: The pros and cons of trading for Brandon Ingram
Pros Of Trading For Ingram
Offensively, Ingram has a case to be one of the more gifted players in the NBA. Simply put, there’s really nowhere on the court that he can’t score from. He’s a high-volume scorer, attempting 14 shots per game throughout his career. However, his field goal percentage in his career is right at about 47%, which is very good for any NBA wing player. I’ve always been a fan of Ingram, and lobbied for a trade over the summer. He’s a big wing that can guard multiple positions and has excellent shooting range and prowess. At the time of the original trade idea, the Cavs had not yet drafted Evan Mobley. Even after drafting Mobley, though, I stick to my opinion that acquiring Ingram would make the Cavs able to potentially fast-track their rebuild.
Collin Sexton has tried to be the guy on the Cavaliers’ offense that can spot up and shoot, but Ingram would be a much better replacement. On top of that, Sexton has only averaged 3.3 assists per game during his career, whereas Ingram has averaged 3.6. While that’s not a huge difference, it is important considering Sexton is a 6’1″ combo guard, and Ingram is a wing. Finally, last year the Cavs finished dead last in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage (33.6%). With shooting becoming the best asset a team can have, acquiring a wing player who shoots 46% from three, while also attempting at least five per game, is an obvious upgrade.
One of the best reasons for the Cavs to at least check on the price tag for Ingram, is because the bench unit, or second unit, would get more firepower by moving Markkanen to the bench. It’s likely Rubio would run the show on the second unit, and with finesse players like Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen around him, he will flourish. A starting lineup of Garland, Sexton, Ingram, Mobley, and Allen would easily be one of the top offensive units in the NBA.
On top of that, Cavs fans saw firsthand how tough having a non-reliable second unit can be. In 2017, after winning the Championship in 2016, the Cavs’ second unit was a disaster. Throughout LeBron’s time in Cleveland, he was not given a ton of help off the bench, particularly in that 2017 season when they had no real go-to scorers in the second unit. By bringing in Ingram, your rotation gets deeper and more balanced. Now obviously some players would have to be a part of the deal, possibly even Collin Sexton or Isaac Okoro. Even so, that should not discourage them enough from at least checking on the availability of Ingram.