Brandon Ingram Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Smart, Love, Ingram, Wall

March 28th, 2018 at 1:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics guard Marcus Smart is making progress in rehabbing a torn ligament in his right thumb and hopes to be available for the second round of the playoffs, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

A cast on his hand was recently replaced by a splint with an opening at the top that allows him to move his thumb, and he has been able to do some light exercises with the injured digit. Smart tore the ligament earlier this month and underwent surgery March 16. His original prognosis had him out six to eight weeks, which sets a potential return about the time of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“Definitely right now, that’s what we’re shooting for,” he said. “The way it’s going now, we’re on the right path. Hopefully nothing happens where it gets delayed.”

There are more injury updates from around the NBA:

Kevin Love has been placed in concussion protocol and will miss tonight’s game, the Cavaliers announced on their website. He suffered a front tooth sublexation last night and experienced concussion-like symptoms at halftime.
After missing nearly four weeks with a strained groin, Lakers forward Brandon Ingram expects to return tonight, tweets Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum Sports Net.
Coach Luke Walton says Lakers rookie Josh Hart has looked good in three-on-three games and may be cleared to play Friday, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
John Wall, who has been sidelined since having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late January, may be able to return tomorrow, according to a tweet from the Wizards. Coach Scott Brooks said Wall will participate in the team’s shootaround and a decision will be based on how the knee responds. He is officially listed as questionable.
Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari is targeting Friday to return from a fractured right hand, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. “I hope to play a few minutes against Portland [Friday],” Gallinari said in an interview with Italian outlet Sky Sport. “The hand is not completely healed, but we’ll see how I can help the team in the games left in the regular season. I will try to bite the bullet for the playoff race. The franchise asked me to grit my teeth and play. I will try to do that.”
After re-injuring his right ankle Monday, Celtics forward Marcus Morris will sit out tonight’s game, according to a tweet from the team. He will probably return Saturday, according to Himmelsbach (Twitter link).
Celtics coach Brad Stevens provided an another update on Gordon Hayward, saying he’s still limited to the Alter-G treadmill and hasn’t been cleared to run on the court (Twitter link). “There will be nothing more exciting for him than being able to get back out on the basketball court,” Stevens said (Twitter link).
Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman may be cleared to return to action after a hip flexor injury. He tweeted an image of himself accompanied by the word, “finally.”
Jazz center Tony Bradley has cleared concussion protocol, tweets Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News.

Injury Updates: Irving, Theis, Matthews, Ingram

March 12th, 2018 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

After leaving Sunday’s game against Indiana with knee soreness, Celtics star Kyrie Irving suggested that an extended rest period could follow, writes ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. Irving sat out last Monday’s game vs. Chicago due to knee pain, but it sounds like he’ll miss more than one game this time around.

“I think [rest] will probably be the best thing, just instead of kind of hoping it gets better over the two or three days that it usually does,” Irving said. “It’s aching a little bit more than I wanted it to now, so I’m taking the necessary time.”

Irving’s knee injury is a cause for concern, but probably not a reason to panic, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. The Celtics now trail Toronto by four games in the loss column (3.5 overall), but remain ahead of the No. 3 Pacers by a full seven games. In other words, they’re all but locked into the No. 2 spot in the East, so they can likely afford to rest Irving and some other ailing players down the stretch without fear of compromising their seeding.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Celtics, already missing Irving and Jaylen Brown, will also see big man Daniel Theis – a key part of the club’s frontcourt rotation – undergo an MRI on his left knee on Monday, Blakely writes for NBC Sports Boston.
A right knee injury may sideline Mavericks swingman Wesley Matthews for at least the next handful of games. According to Dwain Price of Mavs.com, head coach Rick Carlisle said Matthews won’t travel with the club on its upcoming four-game road trip, though Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News suggests Matthews could join the team on the trip if a Monday MRI comes back clean.
Lakers forward Brandon Ingram, on the shelf with a left groin strain, will miss at least a couple more games before being re-evaluated on Thursday, says Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com.
With Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Rodney Hood, and Cedi Osman all unavailable on Sunday, the Cavaliers fell in Los Angeles to the Lakers. After the game, LeBron James said those injuries are his biggest concern at the moment, adding that it’s hard to judge the roster when it’s so banged up. “We have pretty much five guys out of our top nine or top 10 of our rotation not playing because of injuries,” James said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “It’s next man up, but sometimes you just fall short.”

L.A. Notes: Ingram, Lakers, Clippers, Kilpatrick

March 5th, 2018 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers will be without former No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram for at least the next two or three games, the team confirmed today, announcing in a press release that the second-year forward has been diagnosed with a left groin strain. Ingram, who sat out Saturday’s contest vs. San Antonio, will be re-evaluated in about a week, according to the team.

Here are a few more Lakers and Clippers notes from out of Los Angeles:

While the Lakers‘ playoff chances are extremely slim, the progress they’ve made this season is “undeniable and significant to their future,” says Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. As Oram notes, the team’s growth is important not just for its young players but for its ability to attract free agents in the offseason.
Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN also examines the growth of the Lakers‘ young players, who have done well pushing through adversity.
It sounds like the Clippers haven’t entirely ruled out the possibility of signing a two-way player like Tyrone Wallace or C.J. Williams to an NBA contract, but the team didn’t want to wait on those negotiations, opting to fill its open roster spot with Sean Kilpatrick, as Elliott Teaford of The Daily Breeze writes. “We’re trying to make the playoffs here,” head coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re going to try to sign who we think is the best fit for our team. If Sean comes in and earns it, it’ll be his job. Or we’ll go back to the C.J.s or the Tys. We like them all. We just have to figure out who’s the best fit.”
The Clippers are $545K below the luxury tax line after signing Kilpatrick to a 10-day deal, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That gives the team some breathing room to eventually sign someone to a rest-of-season contract without going into the tax.

Pacific Notes: Ingram, Lakers, Bell

November 25th, 2017 at 10:21am CST by marksuleymanov

Lakers second-year forward Brandon Ingram has displayed improvements through the team’s first 19 games. Last year’s second overall pick in the draft is averaging 14.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG in 33.8 minutes — all of those numbers up from his rookie season. As Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes, Ingram feels there is a lot more progress to be made.

“I think I have some more to show,” Ingram said. “This summer I was super confident in what I wanted to do this season, and I don’t think it’s all came yet.”

Oram mentions in the article that while rookie Lonzo Ball has generated most of the Lakers’ headlines, Ingram has generated most the team’s efficiency. At 8-11, the Lakers occupy 10th place in the Western Conference and are not considered a playoff team. However, if the Duke product develops into the player the team believes he can be, they will have at least one reliable anchor in the lineup.

Check out other news around the Pacific Division:

Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register outlines the Lakers’ rebuilding approach, likening it to the 76ers mantra of “Trust the Process.” The team has secured several first-round picks in recent years, including Ingram, Ball, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Kyle Kuzma. Russell was traded to the Nets over the offseason but the other young assets remain in the fold. Heisler notes that the Lakers’ plan to compete will have to include luring a big name free agent such as LeBron James. For that to happen, he adds, the current roster will have to show it has sustainable potential.
Warriors rookie Jordan Bell has played sparingly this season but after the Warriors paid $3.5MM to acquire him from the Bulls after the NBA Draft, he has used it as motivation, Mark Medina of The Mercury News writes. “I use it as motivation as far as me playing for this team, and how much effort and money they spent to try to get me,” Bell said. “They already have such a great team over here and are so deep. But they obviously want me. I use that as motivation. So, now I got to show people that I’m worth the $3.5 million they spent to get me.”

Pacific Notes: Ingram, McGee, Deng

October 27th, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by Austin Kent

Could Brandon Ingram be the next great Lakers closer? Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register thinks so. On a roster filled with promising young player and role-playing veterans, Ingram could be uniquely qualified to step into the role that Kobe Bryant vacated in 2016.

“He definitely has the ability and confidence to make those kind of plays,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said of Ingram. “He definitely wants it. One hundred percent he wants it. Some people, they say they want it. But in their eyes you can tell they’re just saying it because they’re supposed to say it. Brandon, he truly wants those types of moments.”

Teaford cites Ingram’s role in the Lakers’ recent comeback victory against the Wizards, chipping in with 11 points in the fourth quarter and tapping in the game-tying bucket at the end of regulation.

In four games as a Lakers sophomore, Ingram has averaged 15.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Despite his emergence as a valued rotation piece for the Warriors last season, JaVale McGee has been used sparingly thus far in 2017/18. Anthony Slater of The Athletic caught up with the center about his usage. “I don’t feel like I’ve been struggling the first few games,” McGee said. “I haven’t really played a lot, so there’s really no room to struggle. But even from last year, I don’t play a lot during games that go small. All I can really do is work on the things that keep me from playing a lot.“
In a preview of what could be their backcourt of the future, Kings fans saw Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Aaron Fox connecting in the final minutes of their loss to the Pelicans Thursday. “I can talk to him and tell him about the mistakes I made,” Bogdanovic told Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. “And hope he can learn without having to make those mistakes.”
Having seen just 13 minutes of action so far this season, it’s safe to say that Luol Deng is at the bottom of the Lakers‘ depth chart. An ESPN report states that the veteran will likely continue to draw DNP-CDs.

Lakers Exercise 2018/19 Options On Ingram, Nance

October 24th, 2017 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

One week ahead of the October 31 deadline, the Lakers have picked up their 2018/19 team options on forwards Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr., the team announced today in a press release. The moves will fully guarantee the two players’ salaries through the ’18/19 season.

Although Ingram has struggled to make a consistent impact on the court for the Lakers since being selected with the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, the decision to pick up his 2018/19 option was a no-brainer for the club. It will count against L.A.’s cap for $5,757,120 next season.

As for Nance, he has impressed Lakers decision-makers with his play this fall and usurped Julius Randle as the team’s starting power forward. It’s a small sample, but through three games this season, Nance’s per-minute numbers have soared — he’s averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per 36 minutes, compared to 11.2 and 9.2 last year. His fourth-year option for 2018/19 will count for $2,272,391 against the Lakers’ cap.

Nance will be eligible for a contract extension next offseason, and if he’s not extended, he’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2019. Ingram is under team control for one additional year, so the Lakers will have to decide on his 2019/20 team option a year from now.

Los Angeles Notes: Ingram, Rivers, Hart

September 15th, 2017 at 8:50pm CST by Austin Kent

After an uninspiring rookie season, Lakers forward Brandon Ingram has been devoted to working on his jumpshot and adding to his frame. The 20-year-old has been lifting weights, eating better and intentionally trying to eat more, Mike Trudell of the team’s official website writes.

While Ingram’s numbers slowly improved in the second half of his first campaign, he has a long way to go to live up to the hype that surrounded him following his second-overall selection in the draft. That’s not so much a knock on Ingram’s performance as it is a reminder of his ceiling, he actually ended up averaging a respectable 13.2 points per game on .475 shooting after the break in 2016/17.

Trudell writes that Ingram couldn’t always rely on his jumpshot to open up space on the floor and that, coupled with the inevitable transition from college to the pros, contributed to his less than stellar first season.

“I went into the game [at Summer League] and it all felt natural“, Ingram told Trudell. “I felt like myself again. I felt like I was just playing regular basketball. Now I feel even better. Better conditioned, stronger. We’ve been putting in so much work in the weight room.”

There’s more from L.A.:

Rather than decide which of Kobe Bryant‘s jersey numbers to retire, the Lakers decided to put them both in the rafters, the team’s official website said. The ceremony will take place on December 18.
The Clippers had a busy offseason this summer and shaking things up could serve them well in the long run, Shaun Powell of NBA.com implies. Doc Rivers has been relieved of his roster management responsibilities and will be able to focus on coaching with Blake Griffin now the lone focal point of his offense.
Lakers guard Josh Hart has his priorities straight and knows just how he wants to contribute to his team in Year 1. “For me, defense is personal,” Hart told the team’s official website. “Obviously it’s tough to stop people one on one. But when you have that mind set of taking this personal; it’s just you and the other guy, and there’s one ball. And one person’s gonna eat, and I want that to be me.”

Pacific Notes: Ingram, Randolph, Warriors, Kings

August 31st, 2017 at 9:52pm CST by marksuleymanov

Kings‘ forward Zach Randolph was formally charged with two misdemeanors after his August 9 arrest for possession of marijuana, John Schultz of the Sacramento Bee writes.

Charges against Randolph were reduced from possession of marijuana with intent to sell to possession of more than one ounce of marijuana and resisting arrest, per the Los Angeles County Superior Court website.

Possession of marijuana comes with a possible six-month sentence, a fine not exceeding $500, or both. The resisting arrest charge comes with up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

Randolph, 36, signed a two-year, $24MM deal with Sacramento in July, bringing a stable veteran presence to an otherwise rebuilding Kings team. While age has slowed Randolph’s production, he has still posted at least 14.1 PPG and 7.8 RPG the last five seasons. Needless to say, this type of legal issue is not what the Kings had in mind when they committed two years to the NBA veteran.

Below you can read other tidbits of news around the Pacific Division:

In a piece for ESPN Insider (subscription required and recommended) Mike Schmitz examines Lakers‘ forward Brandon Ingram. The second overall pick from last year’s draft did not have the type of season he and the organization hoped for in 2016/17. Schmitz — who expects a breakout season — explains that Ingram’s shooting was impacted by a change of position and simply adjusting from college to the professional level.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) explains how the Warriors‘ star players can be even better in 2017/18. Golden State has made three consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning two out of the three.
A state senator in Inglewood, California, says it is possible that a proposal to fast track a new arena for the Clippers will be introduced, Liam Dillon of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com has compiled an offseason recap for the Kings.

Pacific Notes: Ingram, Beverley, KCP

July 22nd, 2017 at 9:27am CST by marksuleymanov

The Lakers have been active and persistent this offseason, from drafting UCLA product Lonzo Ball, to shipping out former first round pick D’Angelo Russell to the Nets, to signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year deal. While trade talks persist, the team is adamantly against trading last year’s second overall pick Brandon Ingram, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes.

Ingram, soon-to-be 20 years old, did not post eye-popping numbers in his rookie season, averaging 9.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG and shot 40.2 % from the floor. However, his work ethic and potential is the reason why Lakers brass has been abruptly ending phone calls once opposing teams inquire about his availability. Team president Magic Johnson‘s endorsement is a glowing one for the Duke product.

“The guy only cares about winning and basketball,” Johnson said. “He’s quiet and doesn’t do anything else. He is a very intelligent young man and is our hardest worker.”

As the Lakers continue their drift toward youth, Ingram figures to crack the starting lineup next season. Alongside the hotshot prospect Ball, veteran acquisition Lopez, and other youngsters, Ingram’s development remains a crucial point and goal for the Lakers.

Below are additional notes surrounding the Lakers and the Pacific division:

The Lakers‘ signing of KCP is a risk for both sides but one that could pay dividends, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times writes. Caldwell-Pope signed a one-year, $18MM deal with Los Angeles and was introduced earlier this week. The Lakers’ hope is that the 24-year-old, who is technically considered a veteran as he enters his fifth NBA season, will be a leader for a young team.
Conversely, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press ponders whether KCP’s decision to reject a four-year, $80MM offer from the Pistons last season was a wise move. While KCP will do fine financially this season, injuries, poor performance, and a change in the market could harm his value after 2017/18. Caldwell-Pope’s hope will be to have a strong season and hit the market at 25 years old looking for security.
Mark Medina adds in a separate piece that the Lakers are looking to fill out their roster in the next few weeks.
One of the Clippers‘ many acquisitions in the Chris Paul sign-and-trade was defensive standout Patrick Beverley. USA Today highlighted Beverly and his desire to not be compared with Paul and rather let his game speak for itself. Many Clippers officials are also quoted in stating their longtime appreciation of Beverley’s talents.

Pacific Notes: Gallinari, Randolph, Ingram

July 9th, 2017 at 9:24pm CST by Austin Kent

Expect the system the Clippers have in place to complement the skills of newly acquired Danilo Gallinari, Tyler Blint-Welsh of the Los Angeles Times writes.

“One of the reasons I chose [the Clippers] is because of the team that we have,” he said. “So I have no doubt that I’m gonna fit in.”

The versatility that Gallinari brings to the franchise will help the squad play positionelss basketball, something ever more important in today’s evolving NBA. Having such options on the perimeter should make life easier for Clippers big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in the post.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers shut Brandon Ingram down for the Summer League as a precautionary measure, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. The second-year forward gave his team a scare when he suffered a cramp in his leg toward the end of Friday’s Vegas league contest but the injury is minor.
When the Kings added Zach Randolph they added the type of veteran that will benefit their young players. Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee interviewed Randolph’s former coach with the Grizzlies about what he brings on and off the court. “This is a process,” Lionel Hollins said, “And the process is enhanced by the quality of your veterans. You can’t have guys who sit on the bench, get paid and don’t help their young teammates. You have to have the right veterans because that will help the young players move up faster. So the young kids better come ready out there, because Zach is going to teach them how to be tougher, more physical and professional.“
The decision that Kevin Durant made to take less money that what he was eligible for allowed the Warriors to retain their core and club general manager Bob Meyers is quick to applaud him for the gesture. “I can pretty much unequivocally say without it, we’re not looking at the team we have right now. What Kevin did shows who he is, shows what he’s about and I think it’s clear that that’s winning,” Myers told the Associated Press.