And if he is that good, then why would you trade him to a division rival where you will face him twice per year. I think you know how that story will end. You trade him to an AFC team you that you will face once every four years.
Nobody said anything about trading him to a division rival. We DON'T want him going to a division rival, nor a conference rival because then we'll face him every 3 years (not including matching seed # games) instead of every 4 years if he'd be in the AFC, as you've mentioned.
The reason we gave Ivory the 2nd round tender is to scare away our division rivals. Mainly the Falcons, because they need a back now Turner is gone; the Panthers aren't in dire need of one and the Bucs just locked up their bruiser in Blount with a new contract. So it's only the Falcons. We gave him the 2nd round tender, but that doesn't mean we have to receive a 2nd rounder. We can trade him for a lesser pick plus a player to another team. We just have to match any other offer.
Think of it like season tickets if you have them. You (the Saints) have the first-right of refusal to renew your seats (Ivory) as long as you own the rights; if you don't pay your invoices, the tickets will be forfeited to someone on the season-ticket waiting list (other teams in the NFL making offers to Ivory). Whatever the other teams offer us for the "rights" to Ivory, the Saints have the choice to match their offer. If we don't, then they get him. The 2nd round tender is mainly to scare off the Falcons.