Trading two draft picks, Bruce Brown, and Kelly Olynyk for Brandon Ingram at last year’s trade deadline paid off in several ways for the Toronto Raptors. He was uncharacteristically healthy this season, playing more than 64 regular-season games for the first time since his 2016-17 rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was also the team’s leading scorer and helped bring the Raptors back to the playoffs after a three-year absence.
However, once the playoffs started, Ingram only brought the Raptors disappointment. He struggled to score in the first five games and missed the last two with a heel injury that required him to have surgery a few days ago.
The fact that Ingram struggled to contribute in the playoffs and the Raptors were able to win a big Game 6 without him, brought up some serious concerns about his long-term future with the franchise. He is one of several players the Raptors should probably move on from sooner rather than later. However, doing that this offseason might not be easy. Other teams around the league won’t be particularly eager to trade for Ingram after the underwhelming playoff series he put together and another injury. They may just have to give him another chance, even if they would rather try to find an upgrade.
Brandon Ingram didn’t look like his regular-season self in the playoffs
The Raptors wouldn’t have finished the regular season with a top-five seed in the Eastern Conference without Brandon Ingram. But two things can be true. As much as he was a positive contributor in the regular season, he was a non-factor in the playoffs.
After averaging 21.5 points on 47.7% shooting from the field, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the regular season, Ingram only put up 12 points on 32.8% shooting from the field, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in the playoffs. His production dropped, while others, like Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, rose to the challenge and elevated their game.
To be fair, it was “just” one playoff run, and, although Ingram isn’t still in the same developmental stage as most of his Raptors teammates, he may be able to do better the second time around if he can enter the postseason without a nagging injury. The Raptors may have to find out if that’s the case if they cannot find a way to move on from him this offseason or simply decide to give this current core another shot and see how much better Scottie Barnes can be after his outstanding playoff run before making any big, franchise-altering moves.
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