3 potentially disgruntled superstars for the Portland Trail Blazers to monitor

Potentially disgruntled superstar the Portland Trail Blazers should monitor: Brandon Ingram

Speaking of questionable front offices that could push their stars away, the New Orleans Pelicans appear to be trying their hardest to fumble what was once a promising rebuild following the Anthony Davis-era.

Brandon Ingram will play for his third coach in three years in New Orleans next season. Ingram developed extraordinarily well in his first season with the Pellies, but his growth stagnated his second year under Stan Van Gundy, particularly on defense.

His averages in steals, rebounds, free throw attempts, and 3-point percentage all took a hit, while he had no significant improvements in any other counting stats. His scoring remained the same between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

Ingram still has loads of potential, as a 6’9 forward with guard skills and the ability to score from all three levels. He has a Kevin Durant-like body that allows him to slither around defenders and shoot over the top of those that manage to stay in front of him. His combination of length and quickness also suggest that he’ll be an effective, versatile defender on the inside and on the perimeter, but his effort level under SVG was severely lacking.

His plateau in development could be attributed to the extremely mismatched roster he had around him last season. The Pelicans after drafting Zion Williamson, went out and acquired toughness and defense in veterans Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams. The idea was to build a hardnosed defensive force, in typical SVG fashion, that could bully teams by repeatedly bombarding the rim on the other end of the court.

Instead, they crafted an analytically putrid team that clogged the paint, ranked 25th in 3-point attempts, and 26th in deep accuracy.

The Pellies have since then traded away both Bledsoe and Adams and have revived their rebuild by acquiring new young guard Devonte’ Graham.

Their new roster certainly makes more sense on paper than the 2020-2021 iteration, but it could just as easily fail. If new Head Coach Willie Green fails to impress better than his two predecessors, Ingram could start looking for greener pastures, especially since he’s no longer the face of the franchise.