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Los Angeles Lakers: Players with the most intriguing storylines this year

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 02: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates his dunk in front of Brandon Ingram #14 during a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on October 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 02: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates his dunk in front of Brandon Ingram #14 during a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on October 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Brandon Ingram

The foundation of the Los Angeles Lakers young core is third-year forward, Brandon Ingram. Thos drafted in the lottery before him (Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell) are no longer with the team. Not only does Ingram have a massive ceiling, but he is also the farthest along in terms of progression among the young core.

Ingram is going to become a household name this season and is primed to be that young player that takes that next step into being a legitimate NBA all-star. With LeBron James taking him under his wing, Ingram is bound for improvements in nearly every asset of the game.

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The better that Ingram performs, though, the more questions of a looming trade could begin to grow. Perhaps Ingram blossoms into an all-star that looks like he can be a top-10 player in the league, only to entice the New Orleans Pelicans to pull the trigger on an Anthony Davis deal in the offseason.

LeBron only has four years on his contract and is likely going to want to win in those four years. If so, making a deal for an MVP-caliber player in Anthony Davis is the move to make.

Whether or not that deal makes sense depends on how much you value Brandon Ingram.

However, Davis is at the top of the mountain in terms of NBA talent; you figure that it is near impossible for Ingram to develop into a player that is better than Davis is right now.

It could even go the other way. Perhaps Ingram comes out and is already a top-15 player in the NBA and it convinces the Lakers to try the luck in the free agent pool instead. They have the cap space to sign a free agent and Ingram playing at an all-star level could convince someone like Jimmy Butler or Klay Thompson to come to LA.

Next. What LeBron needs to do to win fifth MVP. dark

Regardless, no other player on the Los Angeles Lakers has bigger implications on the franchise than Brandon Ingram.

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