Los Angeles Lakers: 5 potential summer signings to watch closely

5. Joe Ingles

Despite being the best player on this list, we left Joe Ingles as the last player to “watch closely” as he is not playing for the rest of the season. Ingles suffered a torn ACL with the Utah Jazz in January that is going to keep him out for the rest of the season.

If the ACL takes a year to heal then he won’t be able to play until the calendar turns over to 2023. Despite only being in the league for eight seasons, Ingles is already 34 years old and turns 35 in October.

With that ACL injury looming and him missing a chunk of the season, there is no chance that Ingles is going to get more than a minimum deal. He will be signed, though, as one contending team will take the low-risk move of signing him and hoping he can return and play a role next season.

That team should be the Los Angeles Lakers.

It would obviously not be a guarantee so the Lakers should not bank on Ingles being the team’s savior but if he does return and is 90% of what he was before getting injured then he would be a fantastic role player to bring off the bench.

Ingles is a career 40.8% three-point shooter and shot a ridiculous 45.1% from three on 6.1 attempts per game last season for Utah. Better yet, Ingles is also a good defender. After his injury and with his age, Ingles could do less on the offensive end, turning into an off-ball shooter and one of the best three and D guys in the league.

There is also the chance that the injury takes longer to heal and Ingles is never the same guy. However, a veteran minimum salary is worth that risk because of the potential upside.