The Lakers head into the 2024 NBA offseason already mired in change, having dumped coach Darvin Ham after a mere two seasons, and facing a major decision on the part of potential free agent LeBron James. More change is coming, after a disappointing first-round exit against the defending champion Nuggets in just five games.
Fortunately for L.A., they have the contracts and the assets to make some moves and reconfigure the roster. One of the goals is to take some scoring burden off James, who spent his 21st NBA season averaging 25.7 points in 71 games and taking 17.9 shots per game. That’s the fewest of his career, but still too many for a 39-year-old forward.
The Lakers got some of that from Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, but both struggled with consistency, and the team might well be looking to consolidate their scoring roles into a third player behind James and Anthony Davis.
One of the names being floated around the league is, coincidentally, Brandon Ingram, James’ former Lakers teammate who was one of the players included in the massive package that brought Davis to L.A. in 2019. Ingram is with the Pelicans, who are said be willing to move him rather than ink him to an extension.
Ingram back to the Lakers? “It’s an idea, if they’re willing to take the chance,” one East GM said. “Brandon as a third option with LeBron and Anthony Davis, it certainly makes them better, it gets them back to being a contender, or at least in that orbit.”
Brandon Ingram Has Struggled With Health
Ingram was the No. 2 pick of the Lakers back in 2016, and played three seasons in L.A., averaging 13.9 points. He was one of the main pieces in a package to New Orleans for Davis, a deal that was consummated in the spring of 2019.
He has averaged 23.1 points in New Orleans, and earned an All-Star spot in his first season, but struggles staying on the floor. He has missed nearly 30% of the Pelicans’ games (225 out of 318 games) over the last four seasons.
But Ingram is 6-foot-8 and able to man multiple positions alongside James and Davis, if the Lakers make a push for him.
“You keep him healthy, you’re careful with him, and he can carry you through. He is still young (Ingram is 26) … He is a wildcard. But we saw him, he played 30 minutes against Washington and put up 40 points. He did that twice (also against Toronto). When he is right, he is a devastating scorer,” one Western Conference exec said.
Lakers Would Have to Pay Sizable Next Contract
One of the bonuses of Ingram is that it might not deplete the Lakers’ asset chest to get him. The team will have its first-rounder in 2025 (if the Pelicans take the 2024 pick) and picks in 2029 and 2031 to trade, but might not need to give up more than one selection, as the 49-win Pelicans seek to make a win-now trade.
Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves heading to New Orleans for Ingram would be a solid backbone of a trade. The Lakers could add rookie Jordan Hood-Schifino to the mix, and could add a protected future first-rounder.
That’s because Ingram comes with baggage—namely, he is up for a four-year, $204 million extension that the Pelicans are reluctant to pay. New Orleans gave Ingram a five-year, $158 million extension in 2020.
“Anyone who trades for Ingram, you’re not going to have to give up a full star package because he gets hurt a lot and because you’ve got to pay him,” the GM said. “That’s why I think the Lakers are on the list, where he might wind up. Because he’s going to have to go somewhere where they can pay him.”
The Lakers can do that. Looking ahead at the team’s immediate future, they might have to.