Is Brandon Ingram the Philadelphia 76ers’ top-25 target?

Woj, Woj, Woj, Woj, Woj; after months of Ben Simmons drama that has severely put a damper on what should be a fun Philadelphia 76ers season, are we finally approaching an end of this madness?

On Friday night, when the rest of the world was trying to relax and enjoy the start of the weekend, Adrian Wojnarowski shot off a series of tweets about Daryl Morey’s “gathering momentum” on the trade market, with the December 15th free agency trade moratorium a sort of inflection point for future dealings.

Now granted, Woj didn’t exclusively provide good news, as the Portland Trail Blazers have reportedly let it be known league-wide that Damian Lillard is 100 percent off the table in any future trade conversations, but all in all, the team is working through potential trade scenarios featuring two and three teams to land a “Top 25 player.”

Alright, alright, alright, but who are the top-25 players in the NBA? Well, ESPN actually broke that down preseason here, and while the list isn’t even remotely official, it does present a decent enough idea of who Woj could be talking about, especially if you expand the deal out into the top-30 players.

Of that grouping, who could the Sixers be targeting, and, more importantly, who can they realistically land in a trade? Jaylon Brown? Bradley Beal? Zion Williamson?

In my humble opinion, the player in that group who seems to make the most sense for the Philadelphia 76ers is none other than the player drafted one pick after Ben Simmons in 2016, Brandon Ingram, who is currently wasting an All-Star-ish season on the worst team in the Western Conference.

Brandon Ingram checks a lot of boxes for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Brandon Ingram is a darn good scorer.

He can hit shots from anywhere on the court, drive to the basket with the ball in his hands, and even dish out a handful of dimes per game – 4.5 to be exact – to help facilitate an offense in a secondary playmaking role.

Want a catch-and-shoot specialist from beyond the arc? Ingram hits them at a 41.3 percent clip on 3.8 attempts per game. How about a capable driver who can score at a high clip and get to the line? Ingram drives to the hoop an average of 13.2 times per game, which ranks 21st-league-wide, connecting on his shots 44.3 percent of the time, and takes an average of 5.5 free throws per game, which isn’t, like, Joel Embiid numbers, but is still pretty good.

Factor in Ingram’s 22.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and you’re left with a pretty darn intriguing offensive player who brings a lot to the table and is a perfect second-scoring option for a team looking to win.

The only problems? Clutch scoring and turnovers.

You see, despite physically being able to score from anywhere, Ingram has made just one of his 15 attempts in clutch situations so far this season. While some of those struggles might come down to playing on a bad team without its best player, it’s never a good thing to see a max contract player being outperformed by a rookie second-round pick, a traditionally-gamed center, and two guards who are making $23 million combined on the season.

Furthermore, Ingram is averaging a career-high three turnovers per game, which, again, can come down to playing for a bad team without a ton of outlet options but also comes down to the occasional sloppy ball-handling, as his performance against the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night perfectly highlights.

In a perfect world, would the Sixers optimally like to procure a big wing like Ingram who is a bit more clutch and a bit less reckless with the ball in his hands? Sure, but who, may I ask, fits that bill? As things presently stand, there are only 14 players who average more points in any given game than Ingram, with three of them, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, and Paul George sharing similar athletic profiles. Among that quartet, Ingram ranks second in field goal percentage, second in 3 point shooting, and second in turnovers, all the while putting up similar assist, rebound, and block averages in roughly the same on-court time per game.

Considering Ingram is only 24 and is just on the cusp of entering his NBA prime, he’s certainly the sort of sky-high ceiling player worth rooting for… unless you need someone who projects as an elite defender. Ingram never had a positive defensive RAPTOR rating and likely never will. Still, on a previous episode of J.J. Redick’s “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, Brandon Ingram was lauded for his hardworking nature and eagerness to be coached up (read about that here). That’s valuable, especially when he’d be replacing a player who quite literally refuses to take the court and hasn’t made nearly as many offensive advancements to his game as some would have liked.

Do the Philadelphia 76ers have an interest in Brandon Ingram? I’m not sure. Would they do a one-for-one deal offset by picks, or would the team instead ask for a player like Devonte’ Graham back in the deal? Would Daryl Morey actually want Graham – or Josh Hart, or Jaxson Hayes, or whomever – or would he try to reroute said player(s) for a better fitting veteran point guard? Only time will tell, but whatever the outcome, let’s hope this entire situation comes to an end soon, as it’s rapidly growing insufferable.