Brandon Ingram told Mark Medina of the OC Register that he expects to make huge strides in what he described as a “big summer” coming up.
Leading up to the 2016 NBA Draft, scouts and executives knew that Brandon Ingram had the chance to be a special player. The 6-foot-9 forward out of Duke had a sweet shooting stroke and a long, wiry frame that screamed “elite two-way player.” However, it is because of that long, wiry frame that it’s going to take some time for Ingram to completely reach his potential.
While his 190-pound frame hasn’t stopped him from going up against bigger defenders this season, it hasn’t changed the fact that most guys in the league are stronger than him. Once his body matures, he’s going to be a real problem. Until then, he’s going to continue to get bullied in the post and get his shots blocked at the rim.
Getting moved to the starting lineup for the foreseeable future will surely help Ingram’s development, but Brandon expects this summer to be crucial is his quest for All-Star status, according to Mark Medina of the OC Register.
"“Continue to work hard,” Ingram said. “This summer is going to be a big summer for me to make a great jump for next year and continue to show my work ethic and show what I can do on the basketball floor.”"
Medina also mentioned that Ingram plans on working out with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Ingram didn’t get the chance to play with Bryant last season like a few of his teammates, but he has been waiting for an opportunity to pick his brain, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding.
"Ingram has been longing all season for the chance to connect with Bryant, yearning to find out specifically “whatever he did his rookie year to get prepared” and generally about that killer mentality that Ingram called “unreal.”Ingram’s wish came true Wednesday when he got a text message from Bryant—”What up, youngin? It’s Kobe. Hit me up”—to open the door to what could be a wealth of information. Ingram initially didn’t believe it was really Kobe."
No workout has been scheduled yet, but I suspect we’ll be talking about this again in a few months.
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Bryant is just the latest Lakers legend to offer a hand in helping head coach Luke Walton develop his young team. Magic Johnson also told Spectrum Sports Net’s Mike Bresnahan that he has a special interest in mentoring D’Angelo Russell.
Magic said he’d even help out in Laker practice if Luke Walton wanted it, mentioning D’Angelo Russell as a player he'd like to mentor.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 3, 2017
Maybe we’ll see pictures of Ingram working with Kobe, Russell working with Magic and Ivica Zubac working with Kareem, on his skyhook this offseason. I mean, probably not, but a man can dream.
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But what do you guys think? Will Ingram make the jump next season? Will Kobe help his development? Let us know in the comments below!