Brandon Ingram is the last 1st round pick from the 2016 NBA draft who has yet to sign his rookie contract. That, though, will change on Tuesday according to Shams Charania of The Vertical:
Wait is over for Brandon Ingram: The Los Angeles Lakers will sign the No. 2 overall pick on Tuesday, sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 23, 2016
While there was a line of reasoning that the Lakers might be holding off on signing Ingram in order to include him in a trade, the more likely scenario was almost always about maximizing the team’s cap space.
As we have discussed in the past, rookie scale contracts actually operate on a scale. Rookies can sign for anywhere between 80% to 120% of their slotted rookie salary amount — with most rookies getting deals at the top of that range. Meanwhile, their cap hit is 100% of that slotted amount. The difference between those amounts is money the Lakers could use to its advantage in signing a free agent or when working a trade.
Now that the Lakers have signed Yi Jianlian to a contract worth as much as $8 million, the Lakers have used up their cap space and there is no reason to hold off on getting Ingram signed. Related, I expect the Lakers will also make the Tarik Black signing official shortly.
Once Ingram (and Black) put pen to paper, the only pending decision will be tied to Nick Young’s future. I have long believed Young will not be on the opening day roster — something that I am not alone on. The Lakers have until the end of August to waive Young using the stretch provision, but can cut ties with him by simply waiving him at any point during the year. Ideally, they would like to trade him, but I have always viewed that as less likely simply because Young has such little value on the market (he may actually have what I often call “negative” trade value where teams actually want a sweetner in order to take on his deal).
In any event, Young’s time will come but Ingram’s time looks to be now. As the #2 overall pick, he is viewed as a future cornerstone player who has excellent two-way potential. And while getting him signed was always pretty much a formality, it is great news to hear it will now get done. The season cannot get here soon enough.
MT87 says
Welcome to the Lakers Brandon Ingram! It took a little longer than anticipated but it matters little in the end!
matt24 says
Funny darius write up is mostly about getting rid of nick young, maybe d’antoni wants him in Houston, did yall see the story of how nick wants to make peace with d’angelo, either way i don’t forsee nick young getting traded, it would make life too easy on all of us and thats not normal.
Vasheed says
Welcome aboard Ingram! So, if the Lakers waive Young, Russell changes his number to 0, how many jerseys do they sell?
Mid Wilshire says
Once Nick Young gets waived and/or stretched (I’m assuming this is a given), that will leave the Lakers with one open position on the roster.
Mitch would then have two options: 1) leave that position open and fill it with the appropriate kind of player in the event of injury later in the season or 2) let one of the players on the preseason squad (such as Xavier Henry if he gets an invite to camp) fill that spot.
My bet is that it will be the former. Mitch often likes to leave one roster spot open just in case. In any event, I’d be shocked if Swaggy P is still on the team at the beginning of the season. I fully expect him to be gone by September 1. We’ll see what happens.
A Horse With No Name says
No surprise– a lot of worrying about nada. The lakers were keeping their roster flexibility window open as long as they could, largely because they were pursuing Yi, as we’ve learned.
So far the response to the Yi signing here seems lukewarm, meh, etc. Personally, I find it an inspired and intriguing move that may pay off with no risk to the team’s future. An agile, 6’11” guy who can handle, pass and shoot. He’s way, way, better than Ryan Kelley–in fact he’s a legitimate NBA modern big. Perfect for this offense. He’s probably 30-31 years old (nod to Clay), low odometer reading. Now physically mature and strong. Naysayers will argue that his stats in China are meaningless, and I agree on that point. What I am interested is how he looked against the U.S. Olympic team and other top level teams in Rio. The answer, both eye test and stats, was that he was really good. He showed play making, shooting–the things he good at–but also surprising defensive acumen and effective physicality.
And for those who keep saying that Yi was signed for marketing reasons, please remember that jersey revenue is split between the league’s 29 teams. Thus the effect on the laker’s bottom line will be paltry. He was signed because he’s a floor spacing big that can likely help this team win games. That’s it.
BigCitySid10552 says
Mid Wilshire Under the impression the Ingram signing brings roster to 16, so they must cut someone, unless Elonu & Black weren’t or won’t be signed
KevTheBold says
About time!
Go buy your house young man and get your family here.
Welcome to Los Angeles, and the Lakers !!
KevTheBold says
A Horse With No Name
Agree !
With an impressive 47% from 3 point land, and something to prove on his return to the NBA, I think he will come in plenty handy.
KevTheBold says
Mid Wilshire
They also signed Auguste, so I don’t know what is what, and who is where, but like you, I assume that Young is a memory.
KevTheBold says
Vasheed
I kinda hope Russell keeps the number 1 jersey as it matches his position, and also the number zero in the nba, seems to be jinxed.
fern16 says
So can people finally stop the stupidity of worriying about Ingram not being signed? Like the Lakers were not going to sign him or something.
KevTheBold says
fern16
The concern was that they were trying to package him in a trade, which they could accomplish easier and quicker, if he weren’t signed.
J C hoops says
Agree. In fact I don’t see why nick wouldn’t get an opportunity to contribute considering his ability to shoot 3s. If he doesn’t pass or play D then he sits. It’s that simple.
If Luke’s offense helps shooters get easier shots than Byron’s did, his % may improve.
Everyone liked Nick’s smiling attitude a year or two ago so I think it’s kinda hogwash to throw him all the way under the ‘buss.’
Vasheed says
A Horse With No Name
Ah, that answers my little conspiratorial thoughts on jerseys.
I’m a little dubious about how much impact he will have given his prior stints. However, he does have a skill set not currently found among the Lakers big men. Can’t hurt to have that.
_ Robert _ says
J C hoops Please be careful with the term “everyone”. It does not apply here : ) Myself and others never liked this contract from the start. At the time – many said he was cheap and fun. Now as stated above – the contract probably has negative value (nothing cheap and fun about that).
Vasheed says
KevTheBold Vasheed
He made a very big deal about his jersey number before being drafted, so I could see it as a possibility. Horse pretty much shot down my thoughts on jersey sales though. 🙁 8, 24,1, 0. It’s all about being happy with your jersey.
A Horse With No Name says
KevTheBold A Horse With No Name The international three line is closer. If he can hit 35% or better as a laker then he’s adding a lot as a stretch 5 or 4.
KevTheBold says
Vasheed
Yes, I read his college number preference, so you could be right Vash.
I just hope if he does switch to zero, that the jersey number goblins keep away.
I also wonder what Nick would think about it. “hey, he got me booted out so he could steal my number”
Lol
Mid Wilshire says
KevTheBold Mid Wilshire All very true. I had miscounted. The Lakers seem to have 17 players “under contract” so…something’s gotta give. However you slice it, I think that Nick Young’s days (Zach Auguste’s days, too) with the Lakers are probably numbered. The Lakers will have a full table at the beginning of the year and, as I see it, somewhat more talent than last year. Now they’ve got to figure out what to do with it.
matt24 says
Until i see anything from yi jianlian to prove me wrong I’m sticking with the ryan kelly comparison, he’s a non physical defender who would rather guard small forwards, and he’s got a dribble drive to the basket, and can shoot outside. He’s ryan kelly with a more consistent shot.
matt24 says
I would bet on swaaggy p or caulderon getting the boot, they should seek out a lou williams trade too
matt24 says
Why would you waive nick young for xavier henry, not much of a upgrade
Mid Wilshire says
matt24 As it turns out, there’s not much room on the roster for either Swaggy or X. But, to answer your question, one plays D and the other doesn’t. Guess which is which.
fern16 says
That was a posibility but it didn’t happen and was off the table a long time ago.. They were just rounding up the roster. people got desperate and annoying…
KevTheBold says
fern16
Obviously it didn’t happen,..yet.
And as of now post signing, they must keep him for at least 30 days.
Though I wish that ‘off the table’ factoid was available for us all to see, because with Jim sweating in that timeline pressure box, I would not have been surprised to see Ingram traded in some ridiculous 4 team scenario.
BigCitySid10552 says
fern16 You have a lot more faith in the Bus(t) family than most. Unless you have a short memory, you know they done dumber things
quadcopter says
fern16 I think it’s telling that it was just a few days after the Olympics concluded. If they were, say, looking at [trade speculation filter enabled]someone’s Cousin[trade speculation filter disabled], it’s obviously in both teams’ interests to wait it out in the event of injury.
Clay Bertrand says
A Horse With No Name
My post referencing Jersey Sales was not so much a reference SOLELY to Jersey Sales per se, but more an abstract reference to the international marketing of the Lakers to the Chinese Market in general. Yes, Jersey Sale profits are shared among the 29 teams EQUALLY as with any other traditional NBA “MERCHANDISE.”
However, what I’m suggesting goes WAY beyond mere Jersey and BobbleHead sales. China is the greatest single emerging market for a growing number of American products due to their obvious huge population and recent financial booms (current Chinese economic sluggishness aside). Kobe has certainly held down almost God Like status there for years now.
NO, this is NOT about token fan items and SQUARE BUCKS. This is about ADVERTISING and CUBIC BUCKS. Staples Center advertising, TV Ad placement and especially, the soon to be reality ADS ON JERSEYS are ALL items that are not divided equally among the teams. Rather, these earnings are part of revenue sharing whereby the Lakers I believe, must surrender 50% of their earnings to the Revenue Sharing pool which gets divvied up among the 30 teams–(actually all teams contribute and there are offset payments to even it all out).
The Lakers, I understand, have contributed BY FAR, the most of ANY team to league revenue sharing since the new CBA set out the new sharing standards. I believe in 2014 the Lakers paid out close to $45 Million to the league with the next highest contributing team, the Knicks paying out a paltry $23 Million. That’s how big the Lakers brand is. It’s also indicative of HOW MUCH MORE, the Lakers can bring in due to their broad appeal and brand strength.
In other words, increasing exposure in China and reaching interested Chinese eyes means EVEN MORE Chinese advertising money will flow the Lakers way (even if they have to share some of it). Note that we already have had SOME floor electronic banner signage that is TOTALLY in Chinese—meaning it isn’t meant for American recognition at all because Americans can’t even read it. Now with more Chinese potentially following Jian (his real FIRST name) and the Lakers, imagine seeing YINGLI SOLAR as the main Floor or Jersey Sponsor. That level of global sponsorship would not go to a team with no Chinese player drawing attention or to a small market.
Sure the Lakers will have to surrender HALF of their profits in these advertising pursuits, but understand that this would still mean millions of additional dollars in the Buss Bank Accounts.
Take this quote from the Bloomberg press release regarding the Jersey Ad Approval back in April:
“Teams will keep half of what the ads generate, and the other half will be put into a revenue-sharing pool. Successful teams that make more national TV appearances — and teams with bigger international audiences — can make more money from a company seeking to put its logo on a uniform.”
None of that is even touching the other local advertising and overall influence that a Chinese player can bring to L.A. which has a very significant Chinese population.
Jersey sales aside, the Lakers WILL realize profits from the signing of Jian. ESPECIALLY if he can become a contributing member of the team. Even the Chinese fans won’t tune in to watch Jian do his best Rob Sacre impersonation.
It’d really be a WIN-WIN though for him to bring some actual on court value though in addition to the value the Chinese market can bring to the Lakers’ bottom line.
J C hoops says
That makes sense.
I’m far too ignorant to disagree.
fern16 says
Oh im aware of that Sid my memory is fine but teams were going to ask for everything that isn’t bolted down to send someone like, say, Boogie this way. Not even Jimbo was willing to do that to save his deadline. Im betting he won’t step down specially if the team shows some improvement like we all hope…
Avidon says
Nice to see Brandon officially signed. This almost makes everything OK, even with losing Young for nothing and signing Yi.
MT87 says
This is totally off topic, but have you all seen the video over at draftkings of Boogie playing at being a ref? He missed his calling, could have been the next Joey Crawford!