Brandon Ingram (Photo : Getty Images/Sean M. Haffey)
The LA Lakers will have a new shooting guard for the 2016-17 season.
For the longest time, the position has been ably covered by Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba is arguably the second best shooting guard in NBA history, trailing only Michael Jordan himself.
Last season, the Lakers had to place Kobe at the small forward position. Firstly, because Jordan Clarkson has been given the starting nod at the "two" and also to help Kobe cope with his lack of speed. Bryant at his age and physical condition (coming off numerous injuries that kept him out for extended periods of time), would have a hard time chasing younger, faster shooting guards.
It did go well as Bryant was tall enough to defend small forwards like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. It also helped them cope with small-ball lineups.
Now that Kobe's gone, Clarkson will still be the first option at shooting guard (they have two reserve point guards now with Jose Calderon, Marcelo Huertas) but is still listed as a point guard. They do have reserve shooting guards in Lou Williams and occasionally Nick Young, but if the Lakers had their way, those two players would be shipped out.
According to Hannah Kulik of Lakers Nation, the coaching staff has a dilemma with regards to Brandon Ingram, specifically his playing time. The team did not hire Luol Deng just to be a mentor, they probably want him to start to ease the pressure off the prized rookie.
Deng is still a good NBA player capable of consistent scoring and defense. He could still log in a good 30 minutes a game. Thus, the solution to give maximum exposure to Ingram is to field him as a shooting guard behind Clarkson as well.
"These days, small forwards and shooting guards are all "wing" players who are almost interchangeable," Kulik cited. "(Chicago Bulls' Jimmy) Butler and (Toronto Raptors' DeMar) DeRozan can easily slide over to play small forward just as players like 6'8″ Kawhi Leonard and 6'9″ Paul George can play shooting guard when needed."
Ingram projects to be a good perimeter defender because of his length and speed. He can also create mismatches on the offense.
This could be a good experiment for the Lakers and if Ingram embraces the new role as the reserve wing (sixth man) this could be the first big step of their rebuilding campaign.
