Los Angeles Lakers plan to take Brandon Ingram at No. 2
By John Buhler
With Ben Simmons being off the board to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Lakers plan to draft Brandon Ingram with the No. 2 overall selection.
According to ESPN’s Chad Ford and Ramona Shelburne, “barring a last minute trade offer, the Los Angeles Lakers intend to select Duke freshman Brandon Ingram with the second pick of the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday night.”
After the Philadelphia 76ers tipped their hand earlier this week about their intentions to draft LSU freshman Ben Simmons with the first pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, it seemed obvious that the Lakers would take the other elite prospect at No. 2 in Ingram.
Despite a slender frame, Ingram would fit in nicely in the Lakers’ starting lineup at small forward. Los Angeles already has four intriguing young players in point guard D’Angelo Russell, shooting guard Jordan Clarkson, power forward Julius Randle, and center Larry Nance, Jr.
Though Simmons and Ingram were expected to go No. 1 and No. 2 in some fashion in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Lakers did have to vet the selection of Ingram with new head coach and former Lakers player Luke Walton.
While Walton had been tabbed as the next head coach of the Lakers several weeks ago, he had obligations as a top assistant for Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors that ended up losing Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals on Sunday night.
Ingram is a strong shooter and has an impressive wingspan as a teenager coming out of Duke. He’ll have to put on some weight to handle the physicality of playing in the NBA, but has a great chance to be a transformative player in the NBA with his already sound offensive game.
With the first two picks already decided with Simmons to Philadelphia and Ingram to Los Angeles, it will be up to the Boston Celtics at No. 3 and the Phoenix Suns at No. 4 to shape the rest of the 2016 NBA Draft.
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