Lakers Rumors: 3 Benefits Of Drafting Brandon Ingram in 2016 NBA Draft

Maintaining Core Chemistry

If the Lakers continue to make decisions in the best interest of the team, they’d be smart to keep their young core together no matter what, especially now that Brandon Ingram is in the mix.

Julius Randle has shown us some of what he’s capable of, but isn’t anywhere close to his ceiling in an evolving role with the Lakers.

Los Angeles has also seen the beginning of something special in D’Angelo Russell, who seems destined to prove himself even more in his sophomore season than his rookie campaign.

Off-the-court issues served to be more than enough of a distraction for Russell during the season, but with the backing of Luke Walton from day one instead of an apparent conflict of interest and the immediate shadow of Kobe Bryant, it’s safe to say that good things are soon to come.

Russell averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists as a rookie while Randle held a stat line of 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per outing — alongside Ingram’s contributions, those numbers will have an even greater impact on the course of many close games.

The Lakers are also awaiting the guarantee of Jordan Clarkson, whom the team will need to focus on in free agency and tie up sooner rather than later.

Russell may be considered Los Angeles’ point guard of the future in many respects, but ignoring Clarkson’s contributions to a growing team that’s exciting to watch would be beyond ignorant.

Ingram also allows for more comfort among the younger stars as they look to build their own name for themselves instead of being sideline stories.

Now that the focus of the team has officially shifted beyond Bryant, it’s up to the young guns to steal the show and make it unique while they still can.

Now that yet another talented youngster is on board, the ship is getting ready to set sail — and it can only go up from here.

Next: No. 2