Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: The Lakers are set to play in the Las Vegas Summer League later this week, but Brandon Ingram may not play in every game.
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors have revolved around the organization’s plans in free agency. The Lakers have had a number of meetings with free agents, but they have not signed anyone yet. Part of the reason for not signing anyone is that they want to keep their salary cap flexibility in the future. Also, because, they want to provide their younger players with as much playing time as possible.
The plan for the Lakers this upcoming season is clear. They want to continue developing and growing their young players. They added a number of youngsters this offseason as well, as they had four selections in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The first chance we will get to see the draft picks in action is the Las Vegas Summer League. Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant will don the purple-and-gold for the first time. They will be joined with some Lakers as well.
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Joining the rookies will be second-year players Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, and David Nwaba. D-League veterans Alec Brown, Alex Caruso, Travis Wear and Gabe York will be on the team, as well as reigning G-League MVP Vander Blue. Undrafted free agents P.J. Dozier and Matt Thomas will also be taking part.
The Lakers have an absolutely stacked Summer League roster. The roster is deep and talented, which is why they are considered co-favorites to take home the Las Vegas Summer League title along with the Phoenix Suns.
One of the reasons the Lakers are considered favorites is because of the second year players on the team, led by Ingram. The No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft had a rocky start to his rookie season but came on strong the second half, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team.
Fans are excited to see him play as he should dominate the Summer League. But, how much will we see him play? There are rumors floating around that Ingram may not participate the whole time in the Summer League.
According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, there is nothing formally put into place but it would not be shocking to see Ingram sit out some games in Las Vegas.
There's nothing formalized, but I wouldn't be surprised if Brandon Ingram doesn't play every summer league game since he's 2nd-year player
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 5, 2017
The Lakers will begin Summer League play on July 7th with a matchup against the rival, Los Angeles Clippers. They will then play July 8th against the Boston Celtics and July 10th against the Sacramento Kings.
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The rest of the Lakers’ schedule in Las Vegas will be determined by how they fare in those first three games. Those first three games could be the only ones that we see Ingram in.
According to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet, Ingram will play in three games and then see how he feels after that.
Brandon Ingram says he plans to play at least three summer-league games and then see how he feels after that.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) July 5, 2017
Next: Lakers 2017 Summer League Roster Breakdown
While Ingram’s playing status may put a damper on the summer league for some people, the Lakers will still have plenty of players worth watching. This is the first chance Ingram has a chance to be a leader like Magic Johnson is hoping he will, so he should suit up for some of the games. Whether he plays them all or only a handful, the Lakers summer league team will be a lot of fun to watch.