Raptors see Ingram trade as 'incremental step' in rebuild, says GM Bobby Webster

It's not the type of trade rebuilding teams generally make.

Yet the Toronto Raptors (16-35) flipped the script on Thursday, sending the New Orleans Pelicans a 2026 first-round pick from Indiana, their own 2031 second-round pick and veterans Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk for pending free agent Brandon Ingram.

For a Raptors team that sits 13th in the Eastern Conference and may be paying more attention to its draft lottery odds than its playoff chances, the trade at first blush did not seem to add up.

Big welcome to Brandon