Other would-be suitors might be scared off of Ingram for the same reason that the New Orleans Pelicans are willing to discuss dealing him. He needs a new contract between now and next summer, and if Ingram gets his wish, it will be colossal. NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported the Pelicans and Ingram’s camp have both searched for teams willing to acquire him and give him a max extension.

So far, those searches have come up empty. It’s possible they’ll continue being dry given the league’s new economic environment.

The collective bargaining agreement’s restrictions have forced a lot of teams to look closer at their finances than perhaps ever before. Through this more disciplined lens, Ingram isn’t an obvious max-contract candidate. He’s had availability issues (the 64 games he played this season were the most since his rookie year) and production lines that registered more like really good than great.

His close to the most recent campaign didn’t leave the best impression, either. A knee injury sidelined him for multiple weeks late in the season, and when he returned, he clearly wasn’t himself. In four playoff games, he averaged 14.3 points on 34.5/25/89.5 shooting and only 3.3 assists in 36.3 minutes.