Kuzma may have taken the mantle of the Lakers’ second star for now, but that won’t stop the team from seeking an established All-Star. Can Ingram adjust to being a third or even fourth scoring option? “[Ingram] will probably be traded at some point, whether it’s for a second or third star,” another NBA front-office executive said.
More on Brandon Ingram Trade
To date, Los Angeles has not offered players such as Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and Hart in trade discussions. They value each of them highly. The Lakers should have enough cap space to keep all four and still sign a top free agent like Kevin Durant (2019-20 player option), Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard (player option) this offseason. Will Ingram still be a part of L.A.'s young core in six months?
The Lakers won’t surrender Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kyzma or Josh Hart to the Phoenix Suns in their pursuit of forward Trevor Ariza, said people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Lakers have informed teams that have called about trade proposals that they will not give up any of their young core unless it’s for a superstar player, one person said.
Ohm Youngmisuk: Woj also said on @NBATheJumpFP that the Lakers' decision to not give up one of their young players like Ingram or assets like the No. 2 pick for PG last year and get him in fold could become a cautionary tale and maybe signal to Lakers how they approach Kawhi...
Tania Ganguli: A small update on where things stand with the Lakers and trade talks. A league source tells me that so far the Lakers haven't offered Brandon Ingram in any deals.
The question now is whether the Lakers even have enough to convince the San Antonio Spurs to send Leonard there. With San Antonio believed to be uninterested in Lonzo Ball, the Lakers have three other intriguing young players — Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart — plus their future first-round picks to include in a deal.
Ramona Shelburne: Regarding Lakers-Spurs discussions. Things have been in the conceptual lane thus far. Ingram’s name has been in discussions but more as a player Spurs covet.
Harrison Faigen: This is where aggregation gets out of control and why journalists get sick of it. Everyone is writing up that tweet saying that Lonzo would need to be gone if LeBron James came, but the problem is, Haynes never said that. Here is the transcript of the question and his answer
As the Lakers head into a potentially franchise-changing offseason, their front office is keeping its options fully open. While they like their young core and would prefer to keep those players growing together, they have told teams no player is untouchable in trades, according to multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of trade and free-agent negotiations.
To be clear, the Lakers are not actively shopping any of their players. They are willing to listen to offers and could move one of them — even a member of the talented young cadre of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram or Josh Hart — if an offer blows them away.
The Pacers did talk to the Los Angeles Lakers about a package starting with Brandon Ingram, but the 19-year-old forward is exactly the kind of athletic player Magic Johnson wants on his team. He averaged 9.4 points and 4.0 rebounds as a rookie last season.
The Lakers have also fielded trade inquiries in recent weeks that include their No. 2 pick. The Lakers have listened to offers, but they maintain that second-year forward Brandon Ingram is not available. The Lakers like Ingram’s steady growth with his defense, shooting and aggressiveness as he strives to add more muscle to his wiry frame. Meanwhile, the Lakers have heard from prospects that they would like to play alongside Ingram.
Serena Winters: Magic Johnson is on Mornings w/ @keyshawn @SedanoESPN and @Locs_n_Laughs...said he doesn't want to speak in untouchables, but also says... Magic Johnson when asked about untouchables: "Brandon (Ingram) is a guy we probably won't think about moving, ever." (On @ESPNLosAngeles).
Jake Fischer: As detailed yesterday, several sources suggested Lakers didn't offer Ingram-for-Boogie to chase Paul George instead http://on.si.com/2lGKStV
The Lakers called about Boogie, but ultimately valued Brandon Ingram too much to reel in the Kings center. Several league sources also suggested the Lakers aren't offering Ingram as they chase other superstars (George and Butler) too.
Ramona Shelburne: The Kings told the Lakers that without Ingram, they weren't interested. Sources said talks didn't get much farther than that
Adrian Wojnarowski: Sources: Kings, Lakers discussed parameters on Cousins deal in past 48 hours, but Sacramento ended talks in late afternoon. Pels are focus.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Kings wanted Brandon Ingram in a trade package for Cousins, but Lakers refused to include him, league sources tell @The Vertical.
Indeed, it looks like there will be a good deal of time. That’s because the Lakers are not moving any of the three, even as we enter the silly season of NBA trade discussions. According to league sources, the Lakers have not included any of the three into trade discussions, and do not figure to change that. They’re unlikely to consider moves involving their two other young role players, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., who figure to be key parts of the rotation in the near future.
That doesn’t much matter. Here’s what one Western Conference scout said about the state of the Lakers: “If you made a list of the 20 best players who are 22 or under, I think you’d have to have all three of the Lakers’ young guys on there. They’re three of the best young guys in the league. There’s really not a lot of teams can say that, and I think a lot of mediocre teams would like to swap rosters with the Lakers right now.”
Most encouraging, though, has been the way that Ingram has begun to break through, scoring in double digits in each of his past four games and shooting 50 percent or better from the field in five straight. Ingram is loaded with talent, and sometimes displays so much versatility that he doesn’t know on which area of his game he should focus. But, the scout said, “He is probably going to be the best of the three. When you look at his physical assets and what he is capable of just from a raw potential perspective, the sky is the limit. He has to be developed; that’s obvious. He looks to me like he is learning to assert himself more out on the floor. He’s got to figure out where he fits between Randle and Russell. But they’re so young, there will be plenty of time to make that smoother.”
