Lakers shouldn’t have made Brandon Ingram untouchable
By Keith Rivas
If the Lakers hadn’t make Brandon Ingram untouchable, this summer could’ve went very differently.
You can’t predict the future always, but the Kyrie Irving drama in Cleveland should’ve been seen from a mile away. A top pick in his own draft class has his team and his city ripped from him by LeBron James and then he’s forced to fill the role of a sidekick.
Now with his trade to the Boston Celtics, Irving has shown that a team ready to take him on and give up a good amount of players and assets will get their reward.
This summer, it feels like the Lakers did the exact opposite. Ingram didn’t have a great rookie season, but his potential is something that Magic Johnson couldn’t pass up on.
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He truly believes that Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram can be the leaders that the Lakers need. That seemed to be the biggest issue that Johnson had with former Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, who was booted to Brooklyn after two years in LA.
However, the ego factor is going to play a role in their pursuit of superstars during next summer’s free agency period. By then, Ball will have a rookie season under his belt, and Brandon Ingram will either meet the high expectations put on him or falter.
That’s a lot for even a second overall pick to handle in just his second season.
The other dilemma the Lakers are setting themselves up for in terms of egos clashing is if they decide to sign superstars that play the same position as Ingram. If they were to sign LeBron James and/or Paul George next summer because of their cap space, that’s an issue because they play the same position on the floor as Ingram.
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Overall, the Lakers management need to decide — is it a young core movement or a superstar chase? Once they make that decision, things will be much clearer for fans and their path to another title won’t have so many bumps.