2. His cost-controlled rookie-scale contract, allows the Lakers to maintain depth and cap-space.
In the 2019 offseason, Ingram will be entering the final year of his rookie-scale contract, which comes out to around $7.2 million, and will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2020. In addition to that, the rookie contracts of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart don’t expire until the following offseason, 2021.
Having talented players on rookie-scaled contracts is an important key to building a successful roster. It allows the team to spend big at other positions of need while retaining the ability to go over the cap to re-sign their own players when their time comes.
With Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka setting their sights on signing a “max free agent” to pair with LeBron, most of their $43 million in cap space will be spent on a single player, so Ingram’s contract, as well as the contract’s of Ball, Kuzma, and Hart, will prove to be an important part in maintaining some semblance of depth going forward.