Brandon Ingram Says New Orleans ‘Better Environment’ Than Los Angeles

Former Los Angeles Lakers lottery pick Brandon Ingram looks like he is enjoying his new home with the New Orleans Pelicans.

“I would say this is a better environment,” Ingram said. “There are a lot of genuine people here that are pretty solid. No shame to the Lakers because they are a high-class organization. They do everything well and have a good fan base. But I like this spot.”

Ingram was careful to avoid dissing the Lakers organization. But to have his name on the trade block for most of the past season probably took a toll on Ingram.

The Lakers were hunting for a star in the 2018-19 season to give LeBron James a high-caliber running mate. At the top of the team’s wish list was Anthony Davis, who was then with the Pelicans.

The Lakers’ pursuit of Davis caused a rumble within the organization. The Pelicans asked for every asset possible from the Lakers, including their young core players and several draft picks.

Then-president of basketball operations Magic Johnson eventually pulled out of the trade for what he deemed were “outrageous” trade requests from the Pelicans. However, the damage had been done as the players, including Ingram, knew that the team was ready to trade them away at anytime.