The season hasn’t gone the way that the Los Angeles Lakers had hoped it would, and for the sixth straight year, they will find themselves on the outside looking in at the NBA Playoffs. It’s unfamiliar territory for a franchise that is used to competing for championships, especially when they have a superstar on the roster the caliber of LeBron James.
However, one bright spot had been the play of Brandon Ingram, who took his game to an entirely new level prior to undergoing surgery to deal with a blood clot. When the calendar turned to 2019, Ingram began to look like the second star the team have been hoping to place alongside James.
On this episode of the Lakers Nation Podcast, host Trevor Lane is joined by Yahoo Sports salary cap expert Keith Smith to discuss the pros and cons of offering Ingram a contract extension while he is still recovering from surgery.
Depending on the dollar amount, the risk could be high, but if Ingram gets back to the level he was at prior to his blood clot, he’s going to be one of the most sought-after young players in the league.
Additionally, the playoff and tank races are discussed, with a look at whether or not the league’s new draft lottery weighting did anything to prevent the practice of teams that found themselves outside of the playoff picture giving fainted attempts to win games.
Plus, what can the Lakers learn from the success that Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell have had elsewhere? And why does Kobe Bryant think it’s a good idea to trade Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma for Anthony Davis?