NBA Rumors: Heat Could Pair Jimmy Butler With Brandon Ingram In 2020 Free Agency, Per ‘Fadeaway World’
Since the 2019 NBA offseason, the Miami Heat have been aggressive on the market, searching for a second superstar to pair with Jimmy Butler. Though they are currently establishing an impressive performance in the 2019-20 NBA season, the Heat are highly expected to continue finding ways to make major roster upgrades in the summer of 2020. The 2020 NBA free agency may not be as loaded as the previous offseason, but there are still intriguing targets who are expected to be available on the market.
According to Fadeaway World, one of the potential free agency targets for the Heat this summer is Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans.
“As far as team fit, Ingram is an intriguing target for the Heat. Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson have become key players in the Heat rotation. Also with Jimmy Butler, there really aren’t many minutes left at the wing positions (especially if Jones Jr is retained for his defensive versatility). Adding Ingram positions him as a PF in most lineups they would be throwing out there. And even though Bam Adebayo is listed as a C, he has played the majority of his minutes at PF. With that being said, a line up of Nunn-Hero (or Robinson)-Butler-Ingram-Adebayo would be a serious team to go up against.”
Ingram would undeniably be a great addition to the Heat, giving them a very reliable second scoring option next to Butler. At the age of 22, Ingram has already turned himself into an All-Star caliber player after establishing an impressive performance in the 2019-20 NBA season. In 56 games he played with the Pelicans, Ingram is averaging 24.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steal while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The Heat would be hitting two birds in one stone by signing Ingram in the 2020 NBA free agency. Aside from having an All-Star caliber player to pair with Butler, adding a young and promising talent like Ingram to the core of Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Bam Adebayo, and Duncan Robinson would ensure that the Heat would be competing for the NBA championship title for a long period of time.
However, though leaving New Orleans to team up with Butler in Miami would give him a realistic chance of winning an NBA championship title, it remains a big question mark if Ingram would be interested in signing with the Heat this summer. As Fadeaway World noted, with the presence of Butler on their roster, joining the Heat would force Ingram to move to the power forward position and accept lesser ball touches which are expected to have a huge effect in his game. Also, since he is set to become a restricted free agent, the only thing that the Pelicans need to do to keep him on their roster is to match offers from other NBA teams in the 2020 NBA free agency.
