Magic Johnson stated that Brandon Ingram is the only player on the Los Angeles Lakers roster that is untouchable in trade talks. D’Angelo Russell should also be and here’s why.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been bad for a little while now. The only good thing about being bad is that you get the chance to accumulate young talent via the NBA Draft.
The Lakers have been bad enough to get three No. 2 overall draft picks in a row, including this upcoming draft on June 22.
Recently, Magic Johnson stated that Brandon Ingram was the team’s only untouchable player. Now, that’s certainly a good stance to take, as it ensures that the Lakers aren’t going to part with one of the top prospects the team has.
Magic Johnson when asked about untouchables: "Brandon (Ingram) is a guy we probably won't think about moving, ever." (On @ESPNLosAngeles).
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 25, 2017
Under the best of circumstances, evaluating young talent is extremely difficult. This case is a little more complicated when we take into account the new front office has no ties to either of their last No. 2 picks, as both D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram were selected by the previous regime.
With that being said, it should be easy to identify who was the Lakers most valuable prospect last year: D’Angelo Russell.
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For all the talk about Ingram being a can’t-miss prospect, he had a very disappointing rookie season. That doesn’t mean Ingram won’t become really good, but that’s currently nothing but a dream.
D’Angelo Russell, on the other hand, had himself a very nice season in his sophomore year. Russell lead the team in points per game and assists per game, posting up 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
More impressive was that Russell did that in about 28 minutes per game. His per 36 minute stats are very impressive, coming in at 19.6 points, 6 assists and 4.4 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell was clearly the engine that ran the team, and indeed the team typically looked much better when he was out there orchestrating. The impressive thing about Russell has been just how comfortable he is controlling the offense and trying to get open looks for others.
He definitely isn’t a complete product yet, but the fact that he looked so comfortable in his age 20 season is extremely impressive.
Now, that isn’t to say that Brandon Ingram shouldn’t be untouchable. He definitely should be untouchable because he is a prospect with such a high ceiling as a potential two way player.
His size and length are all impressive and he just needs to add some strength and some weight to his frame to start bringing it all together.
However, when evaluating these prospects, I can’t ignore how much more polished Russell looked in both this season and his rookie season by comparison to Ingram.
There’s no way to tell how prospects are going to turn out. Is it possible that Russell could hit his ceiling earlier than expected and simply be a pretty good player? Absolutely. It’s also possible that Russell, being as young as he is, could develop into a legitimate star.
It’s not easy playing point guard as a sophomore in this league. Additionally, most guards take some time to develop, and are usually not finished products until around they are around 24 years old.
Next: 3 Reasons Why Lonzo Ball, D'Angelo Russell a Good Fit
Considering that D’Angelo Russell is only 21 years old, the Lakers absolutely should also make him an untouchable prospect as well.