LA Sports Hub
Fansided

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

By Keith Rivas

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brandon Ingram (Duke) does an interview after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brandon Ingram (Duke) does an interview after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next

Raw Talent & Depth

Jun 21, 2016; El Segunda, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers new head coach Luke Walton talks to the media during a press conference at Toyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 21, 2016; El Segunda, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers new head coach Luke Walton talks to the media during a press conference at Toyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Luke Walton has appeared to make it a point of his time with Los Angeles to bring fun basketball that fans will actually enjoy watching.

Which, if you’ve seen anything of recent play by the Lakers, makes you get your hopes up pretty quickly.

Walton wouldn’t be able to make that kind of a promise to fans or the organization if he didn’t have two things — belief in his guys when the going gets tough, and talent that’s worth investing in and developing at all costs.

Ingram allows for Walton’s impact to be seen on the court and completes the new look for the Lakers moving forward.

The team’s latest draft pick is expected to fill in the shoes of a position that would otherwise be occupied by Anthony Brown or Nick Young — so the team is definitely getting an upgrade.

Focusing on free agency becomes a more narrow reality for the Lakers now that they have answers at every position except center, which they tried to figure out in the draft but could still manage to fill via a worthwhile free agent.

Because Ingram fills a hole that the team desperately needed to put attention towards, it gives him even more room to establish a precedent for the next generation of stars in Los Angeles.

He’s clearly ready to put the hard work in, but how his rookie season and beyond get managed is just as important.

Next: Closing Thoughts

Home/Los Angeles Lakers