; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) passes the ball across court against the Chicago Bulls during the second half of an NBA game at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The New Orleans Pelicans traded Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors for fellow forwards Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday night.
New Orleans will also receive a first-round pick and a second-round pick in the reported deal, which comes hours after both teams played Wednesday. The Pelicans lost 144-119 at Denver, and the Raptors fell 138-107 to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
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Ingram, 27, has been out for nearly two months with an ankle injury and has played only 18 games this season.
READ: NBA: Pelicans’ injury woes compounded as Brandon Ingram goes down
He was with the team on the bench Wednesday night in the first half but did not return when the team took the court in the second half.
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Ingram was an NBA All-Star in 2019-20, when he was named the league’s Most Improved Player. He is in the final year of a five-year, $158.3 million deal and can become an unrestricted free agent in June.
Ingram is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season, which was his sixth with New Orleans. The Pelicans acquired him in the trade with the Lakers that sent Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. The Lakers selected Ingram No. 2 overall in the 2016 draft.
READ: NBA: Zion Williamson still has Brandon Ingram as wingman–for now
With New Orleans, Ingram counted 25.6 percent of the team salary cap this season with a cap hit of more than $36 million.
In 495 career regular-season games, he has averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Ingram put up more than 20 points per game every season with the Pelicans.
Brown, 28, is averaging 8.4 points per game with Toronto and has played in 434 career games (256 starts). He played 18 minutes and scored eight points in the Wednesday loss to Memphis that dropped Toronto’s record to 16-35.
Olynyk, 33, has been limited to 24 games this season mostly due to a back injury that sidelined him until his debut on Dec. 7. He scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds Wednesday to push his averages up to 7.1 and 3.7, respectively, this season.
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The 12th-year pro has appeared in 780 games (263 starts), averaging 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest. –Field Level Media
