The Ingram Dilemma

Brandon Ingram, the young Lakers star, is struggling to find himself in his third year in the NBA, and The King’s arrival in the sunshine state hasn’t helped the young Ingram, is it decision time for the Lakers?

If we want to do Brandon Ingram justice, we have to go back, to June 23, 2016. Draft night. The Lakers had just come off a dismal, franchise-worst 17-65 season. They had the second overall pick and were ready to draft someone who ideally would help create another Lakers dynasty. Ben Simmons was taken first overall by the 76ers, and the Lakers chose Brandon Ingram, out of Duke.

Ingram had a good year in college, averaging 17-6-2 and elevating his play during March Madness, where Duke ultimately fell to Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen, with Ingram starring for the team despite the loss. Ingram would later be named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. Ingram was a fairly obvious choice for the Lakers at the time, and he would be joining a rebuilding Lakers roster that consisted of old and young. Kobe had retired, there was no other star on the team, but they had promising pieces of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson. The addition of Ingram almost completed a full starting-five of promise and talent.

Fast forward to January of 2019, and the Lakers young core has completely turned over, now consisting of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart. The 2018-19 Lakers look very interesting, with the majority of the team being filled out by role players on one year contracts, such as Lance Stephenson (1 yr, $4.45 million), Rajon Rondo (1 yr, $9 million), Michael Beasley (1 yr, $3.5 million) and JaVale McGee (1 yr, $2.4 million). The team has had its ups and its downs, like beating the Golden State Warriors by 26 points on Christmas day or like going 3-7 without LeBron and falling to teams like Cleveland and Brooklyn. To sum it up, the young core has not stepped up to the challenge when they’ve been asked to. Someone who has been especially disappointing, for a variety of reasons, is Brandon Ingram.

The addition of LeBron James to any team is going to make them really good, and for Lakers fans who haven’t seen a great Lakers team since 2010, how could they not be ecstatic about this signing. LeBron is arguably the greatest basketball player ever, and when he’s on the court everything runs through him, and it should, he’s a master at every facet of the game. In most cases, LeBron makes the players around him better, but unfortunately for Brandon Ingram, it’s actually making him worse.

Breakdown of Brandon Ingram’s Stats

2016-17: PPG: 9.4  REB: 4  AST: 2  MPG: 28.8  FG: 40%  3P: 29%  Position: SF

2017-18: PPG: 16.1  REB: 5.3  AST: 3.9  MPG: 33.5  FG: 47%  3P: 39%  Position: SF

2018-19: PPG: 16.5  REB: 4.8  AST: 2.5  MPG: 32.2  FG: 46%  3P: 31%  Position: SG

Obviously, Brandon Ingram played much better in his second season in the NBA compared to his first, most notably shooting at a much higher clip. He definitely took the leap in his sophomore year that players of his caliber are expected to take. This was great for Ingram, great for the Lakers and great for the fans.

Ingram looked poised to take his game to an even higher level in his junior year, and heading into the 2018-19 season, without factoring in LeBron, the Lakers looked better, and their young core, especially Kyle Kuzma, looked to be taking strides in the right direction.

The LeBron Effect

LeBron’s arrival has boosted the Lakers into a playoff contender and makes them significantly better when he’s on the court. The only person who really seems to struggle when LeBron is on the floor is Brandon Ingram. Ingram, a natural small-forward, has been pushed to shooting-guard because of LeBron’s arrival and has not flourished in that position.

His scoring numbers are the same as last year, and he has not shown any significant signs of growth. His shooting has been worse than last year, especially in the three-point department, down a whole 8%. Playing a position that is meant for good shooters and guys that can live without the ball, is not Ingram’s forte. Ingram needs the ball, he wants the ball, and he has all of the necessary skills and attributes that allow him to create his own shot. His length allows him to hit tough shots over defenders, and also allows him to get inside the paint and finish tough shots. Unlike Ingram, Kyle Kuzma is continuing to grow off of his success last season and is playing very well with, and without LeBron. Kuzma does not need the ball, he is an excellent inside player and a decent shooter. He fits the power-forward mole the Lakers, and LeBron need him to fill, and he does it very well.

The problem with Ingram begins with his shooting. He is shooting poorly from outside this year, and everything I’ve seen from tape has shown me he is not confident with his stroke. Numerous times a game, Ingram passes up on open mid-range looks. A common play is Ingram coming off a screen and having anywhere from 2-4 feet of space, sometimes more, between him and the defender, and Ingram will pass up the open look, which he is even more likely of hitting due to his length, and will opt to drive inside and take a more difficult shot. Is this bad? Not necessarily. If Ingram can continue his excellent inside finishing abilities, and improve on them, he will become very tough to stop. For now, though, his strengths do not help him when he is on the court with LeBron.

Brandon Ingram’s Production With & Without LeBron

This is an interesting look at how Ingram’s analytics show that he should be playing without LeBron more often, but isn’t. He shoots better, touches the ball more, and gets more assists, all without LeBron on the floor.

In late November NBA Advanced Stats published these Ingram stats:

LeBron On: PTS per 36 mins: 15.1  AST per 36 mins: 1.9  FG: 44%  Net Efficiency: -0.3

LeBron Off: PTS per 36 mins: 29.5  AST per 36 mins: 4.7  FG: 56%  Net Efficiency: +12.0

I think it’s pretty obvious that Brandon Ingram hasn’t been the complementary piece the Lakers were hoping for, which is a shame, he’s a good player, and absolutely has the potential to be an All-Star in the NBA. Although, it looks like Ingram will either have to be moved to a new system, most likely on a new team to reach his full potential, or in a more unlikely scenario, adapt his game to suit LeBron, and fill the role the Lakers are asking of him.

The Lakers have a dilemma with Ingram. Do they move him this year to possibly bring in a player that can fill the role the Lakers and LeBron need or do they stick it out with Ingram and hope he can adapt his game? LeBron is in his prime, but he is not going to be in it forever. If the Lakers are serious about winning a 17th title with LeBron, they are going to have to make some difficult decisions, and this Ingram situation could be one of them.