Even in the dead of the offseason, the NBA's rumor mill never stops churning.

The latest name to wind up in there was Brandon Ingram's, after he failed to appear at a voluntary minicamp the team expected him to attend.

Tidbits like this might mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, but they could also signal a disconnect that cannot be fixed without a trade.

Lucky for the New Orleans Pelicans (and a couple other teams), we have a deal that would do just that.

Ingram seems unhappy with his current team, which needs a center. The Cleveland Cavaliers are starting two centers. Throughout the summer, those two organizations have felt like logical transaction partners, but a third team might need to jump in to make everything work under the current salary cap.

With an assist from the San Antonio Spurs, below you'll find a deal that works for all three squads.

The Deal

Before we get to the specifics of why each organization should do this, though, let's take a gander at the entire framework at once.

Spurs Receive: Brandon Ingram and Dean Wade

Spurs Lose: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick

Pelicans Receive: Jarrett Allen (cannot be traded till January 27, 2025), Caris LeVert, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from San Antonio)

Pelicans: Lose: Brandon Ingram, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick

Cavaliers Receive: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from New Orleans)

Cavaliers Lose: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Dean Wade

As always, feel free to quibble over some of the smaller contracts or picks involved. This is mostly about the marquee names, and the reasons those make sense in their new destinations follow.

Spurs Speed Up the Timeline

Spurs Receive: Brandon Ingram and Dean Wade

Spurs Lose: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick

The thinking here is pretty simple. If the Spurs play logical lineups this season (as opposed to the "Jeremy Sochan is a point guard" experiment that tanked the early portion of 2023-24), they could compete for a playoff spot.

San Antonio is coming off a campaign in which it was plus-10.2 points per 100 possessions when Victor Wembanyama, Tre Jones (an actual point guard) and Devin Vassell (a decent wing) were all on the floor. And now it has Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes on the roster, who'll make it harder to avoid more traditional alignments.

If that alone puts the Spurs in the middle of the pack, they might as well explore moves that could push them up another tier.

Ingram's mid-range game has added to the congestion in an offense that includes Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum (though the latter has done a good job of upping his three-point volume in recent years). In San Antonio, playing alongside a generational talent who'll force bigs outside the three-point line with his own range, Ingram's game would be more dangerous.

Getting him without giving up Vassell would allow the Spurs to play a mostly positionless trio at the 2, 3 and 4 with Vassell, Ingram, and Barnes. Bookending that with CP3 and Wemby would give San Antonio one of the league's more interesting starting fives.

A future draft pick and soon-to-be-25-year-old Keldon Johnson is a decent amount to give up. And having to deal with whatever Ingram's next contract is could be tricky, but this would undoubtedly make the Spurs better immediately.

Pelicans Land a Center

Pelicans Receive: Jarrett Allen (cannot be traded till January 27, 2025), Caris LeVert, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from San Antonio)

Pelicans: Lose: Brandon Ingram, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick

After losing Jonas Valančiūnas, the Pelicans don't have a starting-caliber center. Right now, they probably have to start 6'6" Zion Williamson there.

And while a lineup with him, Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III could be a lot of fun, it might also get destroyed on the boards.

At least having the option to go with a more traditional look would be nice, and right now, the only options there are 32-year-old journeyman Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi.

Starting with a more traditional look and having the option to go small against second units would be even better, and that's what acquiring Jarrett Allen would do for them.

Now, an offense with Allen and Zion could get pretty crowded, but Murphy is a volume three-point shooter, Jones has been better than expected from the outside to this point of his career and Murray shot a respectable 36.3 percent from deep in 2023-24.

New Orleans would still have the ability to play faster, more positionless lineups, but it would also have a legitimate defensive anchor in Allen.

All of that is worth losing an unhappy All-Star and a pick, especially since the incoming pick from San Antonio makes that part of the deal a net neutral.

Cavaliers Simplify

Cavaliers Receive: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from New Orleans)

Cavaliers Lose: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Dean Wade

The idea of some kind of deal involving Ingram and Allen has been floating around for much of the summer, and it's not hard to see why.

Evan Mobley's NBA destiny appears to be at the 5, which is where Allen starts. Playing them together has given Cleveland a stout defense over the last couple of years, but it's too cramped on the other end, especially in the playoffs.

Simply taking on Ingram would help with that issue to a degree. But his salary nearly doubles Allen's, which makes a straight-up swap impossible. And adding his sometimes ball-dominant game to a team with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell might give the attack too much of a "my turn, your turn" feel.

Re-routing Ingram to San Antonio and taking on the younger Johnson, who's a bit more likely to catch-and-shoot or attack closeouts than hold the ball like Ingram, makes some sense on its own.

But this deal also gives the Cavs a solid, floor-spacing backup 5 in Zach Collins and a depth piece in Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Losing Caris LeVert and Dean Wade might require some younger players like Sam Merrill or Craig Porter Jr. to take a step forward, but that's not some outlandish stretch.