Timberwolves forward Julius Randle and Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram each have All-Star berths under their belts, and Ingram is coming off a five-year, maximum-salary contract. Under the NBA’s old new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Randle and Ingram might have already secured lucrative new extensions. In the current CBA landscape, their uncertain futures reflect teams’ wariness to commit big money to second- or third-tier stars, according to William Guillory and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Guillory and Krawczynski take a closer look at potential next steps for the two standout forwards, pointing out that both players continue to perform well but also laying out reasons why their days with their current teams may be numbered. Ingram will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, while Randle holds a player option for 2025/26.
Guillory believes Ingram is more likely than not to be somewhere besides New Orleans next season. Krawczynski suggests Minnesota may look to trade Randle or let him walk as a free agent in the summer unless everything comes together for the Wolves during the second half of this season in a way that it hasn’t in the first half.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The EuroLeague and IMG, the league’s primary business partner, have reached an agreement to extend their relationship through the 2035/36 season. What does that mean for the NBA’s efforts to introduce a new professional league in Europe? Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic digs into the subject, writing that the EuroLeague’s 13 permanent members – including clubs like Real Madrid, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Anadolu Efes – now seem less likely to leave for an NBA-run European league, though the new contract does include opt-out clauses for teams.
- Noting that it was a relatively quiet January 7 in terms of roster cuts, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron explores whether teams have become more inclined in recent years to hang onto players on non-guaranteed contracts through the annual league-wide salary guarantee deadline.
- In an ESPN roundtable, Tim Bontemps, Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton, Michael Wright, and Jamal Collier discuss several topics related to the upcoming trade deadline, including which team most needs to make a splash, which team in each conference will improve the most at the deadline, and whether the Lakers will make another in-season deal.