Well, media day is off to a hot start and with that brings somewhat surprising news from first-year head coach Luke Walton.
Last week during an interview with Mark Medina, Walton established that the second overall pick in the draft, Brandon Ingram, would not start on opening night.
In his comments today there was a glimmer of opportunity left on the table for Ingram to possibly pry that starting job away from the presumable starter and offseason acquisition Luol Deng.
Luke on Ingram: "We're gonna go to training camp, and if he's the best player on the court, he's gonna start."
— Lakers Outsiders (@LakersOutsiders) September 26, 2016
Whether or not Ingram can win that job seems entirely up to him.
Training camp and preseason will be a vital focus point for Ingram if he wishes to show not only how he has improved from summer league, but also that he is worthy of the starting spot in the rotation. Ingram will look to improve upon a summer league performance that showed flashes of brilliance and the versatility that made him so coveted by the franchise. If he can do that, then Walton will be faced with a big decision in the very early stages of his coaching career.
With the team kicking off training camp tomorrow and preseason games just over a week away this is definitely a situation to monitor. If Deng ends up being the guy that the coaching staff decides will start the season, look for Ingram to still play an impactful role coming off the bench.
