Despite Rumors, Lakers Reportedly Don’t Have Interest in $158M All-Star

The Los Angeles Lakers will always be mentioned if there is a star player available. They are in the business of star-hunting. It’s part of the fabric of who they are as an organization. They always have been too because of the free agents they sign and the star players they trade for.

This season, the Lakers have been linked to various star players on the trade market. What makes things a little bit different this season is that it is a lot harder for them to make a move for a star player because of the new CBA. They are very close to the second apron, which makes making trades harder.

One player who the Lakers have been rumored to have an interest in in the past is Brandon Ingram. Ingram was a former draft pick of the Lakers, as they took him second overall back in the 2016 NBA Draft. He was included as part of the Anthony Davis trade and has been in New Orleans ever since.

According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Lakers have not indicated an interest in the Pelicans forward despite them being linked to him in the offseason. Part of it is the amount of salary the Lakers would have to move in order to acquire him.

Ingram is making $36 million this season but is an unrestricted free agent next season. That means that he would be a three-month rental for any team that trades for him. In theory, if the Lakers wanted to bring him in, they could just wait until the summer to sign him to a contract.

The issue with that is they won’t have enough money to sign him in the offseason because of the contracts they have committed to certain players. The only possible way to bring him to L.A. would be as part of a trade package with the Pelicans.

It doesn’t seem like the Lakers are interested in bringing him back to Los Angeles at the moment. They look like they are more focused on filling in the depth around LeBron James and Anthony Davis to make them contenders for an NBA title.

Los Angeles has already made one trade at the wing position. They likely won’t make another one at the trade deadline. Look for them to make a push for either an offensive-minded point guard or a center. They need both to come off the bench.

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