Duke Blue Devils: Ingram to go to Lakers
With the 76ers having reportedly guaranteed Ben Simmons as the first pick in the draft, Duke Blue Devils forward Brandon Ingram will likely be the second pick.
Duke Blue Devils forward Brandon Ingram is doing pretty good right now. He was invited to the NBA green room. He is supposed to be no later than the second name to get taken off the draft board. So before tomorrow’s draft, let’s look at the likely developments that will occur for Ingram.
The Philadelphia 76ers have essentially tipped their hand with the first pick. They have told Ben Simmons he will be their choice or else Simmons is doing some strange things on social media. With the 76ers passing on Ingram, he becomes the likely choice of the next team in line, the Los Angeles Lakers.
In fact we can one step further. According to reports from Chad and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the Lakers have indicated to the League that they will take Ingram with that second pick. This came after talking to newly minted head coach Luke Walton.
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So Ingram to the Lakers now seems closer to fruition even he has been mocked to the Lakers for a while now. He will get to be a part of the new Lakers based on young talent like D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle coached by the young head coach Luke Walton.
Ingram will enter the league with plenty of potential and possessing the kind of length that Jay Bilas drools over. Since he and Simmons are considered to be the best of this class there will probably be some sort of competition between the two at first. One of them will likely be the presumptive Rookie of the Year next year.
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That Rookie of the Year competition should be fascinating since both the 76ers and the Lakers are at the same point in development. Both players could accumulate stats without the depth that would later surround them.
Production would be key in such a race. The Rookie of the Year award usually goes to the player who collects the most stats rather than the more efficient player. Emeka Okafor and Michael Carter-Williams both won the award over arguably better competitors because of that fact.
That may give the advantage to Simmons. The talent around Simmons is not settled yet and he is likely to see the ball a lot more. For Ingram to get the ball, it has to go through Russell and the second year guard has big expectations of his own to fill.
For the draft itself, the real adventure starts with the third pick and real real adventure will start with the ninth pick. Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow.