The Los Angeles Lakers had their third consecutive lottery pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and they decided to selected forward Brandon Ingram out of Duke.
Many saw Ingram as a perfect fit for the Lakers, as after drafting D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle the previous two years, a wing player was what they sought after this time around.
Ingram, like many other rookies this season, has gotten off to a bit of a slow start to the season though as he continues to adjust to the NBA game.
He has shown moments of potential greatness but has lacked consistency. An NBA scout recently critiqued Ingram’s play so far, via Sean Deveney of Sporting News:
“There was a lot of discussion about whether Ingram should play the 3 or move to the 4. But most of these guys, they’ve got to get comfortable in one position before you start giving them a second position. They’re doing that. He has not played much at the 4 really this year and that is the right thing; let him figure out how to be a weapon on the outside and he will learn to move in over time.
“The thing I liked about him at Duke was that he could create from the perimeter, but he has not been good with that so far. When he gets into isolation or if he runs the pick-and-roll, I mean, if you are the defense, you let him do those things because they usually end badly.”
So far the 19-year-old is averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting just 34.7 percent from the field.
He put together one of his best games on Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling just short of a triple-double with nine points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
Lakers head coach Luke Walton has played Ingram as a point guard a lot to help him learn the offense quicker, a role that Ingram may not have been accustomed to. While his play so far has not exactly been spectacular, his length and unique skill set leaves a lot of room for growth and development.