The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Tuesday that the team has picked up options for its quartet of young stars. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Kyle Kuzma all had their options exercised by the team, keeping them in Los Angeles for the 2019-2020 season barring a trade.
This is, of course, not surprising. All four players have shown promise as pieces for both the present and the future. Keeping them under contract gives them the opportunity to fulfill that promise in Los Angeles. Should the team want to move on from them, they can easily do so via trade and hope to gain more established talent back in the process.
2019-2020 will be the final season under contract for Ingram who showed immense growth in his sophomore season. Prior to the next season, the Lakers will have the opportunity to extend his contract but that decision will largely be dependent on how free agency goes for the team next summer. If the Lakers are unable to use their copious amount of cap space to sign a star, they may opt to keep Ingram in limbo in order to maximize space in the following offseason.
Ball, Kuzma and Hart still have two more seasons to play before they are eligible for their respective extensions. So far, the trio have been a wildly successful draft class for the Lakers but with LeBron James on the team, their rapid development becomes paramount.
For now, the Lakers will be pleased to have the security of a talented young core that can hopefully net them significant success in the future.
2 thoughts