Brandon Ingram shows the Lakers he’s not the same player they traded

The black and gold sign in the corner of Staples Center where the 2019-20 NBA Championship banner will finally be hung reads, “Stay tuned, Lakers family.”

Before the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis, they had told their fans to “stay tuned” for years. It’s the nature of rebuilding, lottery after lottery with a young player after a young player is celebrated as the next coin that will bring your team closer to a title.

It is impossible to know what would have happened if GM Rob Pelinka and the Lakers had decided to stay tuned to their young players if they had tried to continue developing Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart instead. to exchange them.

While the upcoming Staples Center banner is proof that the Lakers made the right decision in changing their future for Davis, Ingram, in particular, is a special piece for another team trying to find their own championship glory.

While the uniform is different, the look is exactly the same: the noodle arms that aren’t thicker than any of her braids, the headband, and the long legs sliding around Staples Center as if it were in new 2018.

But the version of Ingram who took to the court with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night is a very different player than one who left, with the potential being realized at alarming rates as he tries to build an All season. -Star that ended with him. winning the Most Improved Player award.

“He’s a very, very hard worker, very committed to becoming a very good player, really coachable, an excellent teammate. Come and work your butt every day, ”Pelicans new coach Stan Van Gundy said on a pre-game video conference on Friday. “There was no surprise. Everything has been good. It was as good as advertised which was great.

Last season, Ingram’s breakout was fueled by a monster season from three points, the 6-foot-8 forward morphing into a high-volume threat from depth that made nearly 40 percent after three. years of being a reluctant three-point shooter with the Lakers.

While those numbers dropped early in the season, his playing style and rebounds increased as he showed off the offensive skills that led the Lakers to take him second in the 2016 draft.

Everything was on display early on Friday, with Ingram hitting eight of nine shots in the first half, including a silky, rotating mid-range jumper on Kyle Kuzma – the kind of move that apparently justified the $ 158 million extension on five. years. he signed with the pelicans in November.

Ingram only managed one of six shots in the second half to finish with 20 points, and the Lakers retired for a 112-95 victory. But, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before the game: “Their team is better than their. [4-6] the record suggests. ”

Alongside Zion Williamson, 20, the No.1 pick of 2019 who exposed some of the Lakers’ interior holes created by JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard starting during the offseason, Ingram, 23, gives the Pelicans their heart for the life without Davis. Ball, with a knee injury, did not play on Friday, with Hart in the starting lineup.

“He gradually improved,” Lakers goaltender Alex Caruso said of former teammate Ingram. “Even last year he started taking a step right before he left LA… And I know the worker he is because I saw him work every day before and after training, and I’m sure he was. ‘he does the same in the offseason. He seems like one of those guys who just has that motivation and enjoys getting better, being in the gym, and working on his craft.

“I’m not surprised he’s here. Maybe surprised at how quickly he got there, but that’s probably just a testament to how hard he worked.

The Lakers got what they wanted when they traded Ingram to New Orleans, and the golden banner soon to be hung at Staples Center is proof of that.

But it came at a price – and Ingram enjoyed reminding the Lakers what they had to pay for this championship to happen.

Three takeaways from the Lakers’ victory

• After struggling to get into the Pelicans, the Lakers’ defensive intensity skyrocketed in the second half, helping them blast New Orleans.

• Alex Caruso’s impact has extended beyond the box’s score, but one measurable, his shot, continues to impress. He hit his three shots deep.

• Even on a night off for Anthony Davis (shooting five-for-16), the Lakers got plenty of points thanks to six double-digit players.