The Toronto Raptors and newly-acquired star Brandon Ingram agreed to a big contract extension on Tuesday, with the 27-year-old signing a 3-year, $120 million deal with the team. The deal includes a player option for 2027-28, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
In 18 games this season (all in New Orleans) Ingram has averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 47 percent shooting. He has not played since December 7 due to a left ankle injury.
Ingram is a career 19.5 point-per-game scorer, with 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 47 percent shooting. He was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for 2019-20, his first season in New Orleans, as he saw a five point jump in scoring, from 18.3 points to 23.8 points, and made the 2020 All-Star team.
After being the 2nd overall draft pick in 2016 out of Duke, Ingram played his first three seasons in Los Angeles before heading to New Orleans as part of the Anthony Davis deal to the Lakers.
The Raptors, who at 16-37 have the fifth worst record in the NBA this season, get a welcomed addition in Ingram. The 27-year-old is one of the top scorers in the NBA, with his length and ability to get to his spots on the floor. He gives the team something that they have lacked in recent years and only truly had a few times in their 30 year history - a player who can be trusted down the stretch or at a crucial point to get a bucket. Vince Carter, DeMar DeRozan, and Kawhi Leonard filled those roles as stars in the past. On smaller scales, the team has had Mike James, a scoring point guard who averaged 20.3 points for the team in the 2005-06 season. Damon Stoudamire was an electric point guard, but he wasn’t a pure scorer. Neither was Chris Bosh.
Ingram, though, gives them that wrinkle. And with a core of Immanuel Quickley (25), R.J. Barrett (24), Ingram (27) and Scottie Barnes (23), the Raptors have a nice quartet to roll the ball out with and compete going forward.
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