When will Brandon Ingram make his debut with the Toronto Raptors?

Brandon Ingram had been featured in trade rumors heavily since he and the Pelicans couldn't come to terms on an extension this offseason. The Raptors were rarely mentioned as a potential landing spot for the former All-Star but, nevertheless, that's where he ended up at the NBA Trade Deadline.

The Raptors gave up Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick and a second-round pick, presumably with the intention of extending him and plugging him into their young core, alongside Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. That's a group with a lot of offensive firepower but serious question marks about defensive upside and ball-sharing chemistry.

The Raptors would presumably like to see that group together as much as possible over the rest of this season but that may not be possible.

Brandon Ingram is still recovering from an ankle injury and his debut is not imminent

Ingram injured his ankle in early December and hasn't played since. At the time, the Pelicans announced he was out indefinitely. In one of the most recent updates, it was reported in late January that he still had not been cleared for contact drills.

As of right now, there is no firm date for when he might make his first appearance in a Raptors uniform. And even when he does return, it's not clear the rest of the core will be available either. Quickly has been in and out of the lineup with different injuries, appearing in just 13 games this season. Barrett is currently out with a concussion.

Because of the ankle injury, Ingram has played in just 18 games this season but looked extremely sharp, averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game on a 56.0 true shooting percentage. It's worth noting that injuries have been a recurring theme for Ingram — he played in just 64 games last season and appeared in just 305 of a possible 441 games (69 percent) across his five-plus seasons in New Orleans.