Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Brandon Ingram After Jimmy Butler Trade Talks

Despite being previously labeled as "untouchable" by Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson, former No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram might not be as unavailable as he once was.

In fact, ESPN's Tim MacMahon said on the "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective" podcast that Ingram's name was floated during Jimmy Butler trade talks, via Lakers Nation's Matthew Moreno.

Of course, this isn't the first time Ingram's name has graced the trade rumor mill. Far from it, in fact.

Over the summer, Ingram was mentioned as a target of the San Antonio Spurs when they were looking to unload Kawhi Leonard, per Spectrum SportsNet's Larry Coon. Before that, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said Ingram could've been used to land Paul George from the Indiana Pacers, via Lonzo Wire's Christian Rivas.

It's hardly surprising that other teams would covet the lanky swingman. Ingram was selected second overall in 2016 for a reason.

Back then, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman likened Ingram's physical gifts to those possessed by Tayshaun Prince and Giannis Antetokounmpo, while opining that Ingram could "become a 20-point-per-game NBA scorer." An anonymous scout told SI.com he viewed Ingram as "a multi-year all-star" with a game reminiscent of 10-time All-Star Paul Pierce.

The bar, in other words, was placed awfully high and Ingram has done little to lower it. His career stats might not jump off the page (12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists), but they come closer than you'd think once attached to his age (21), size (6'9" with a 7'3" wingspan) and advanced skill level.

So, again, other teams targeting Ingram isn't shocking—not even in potential exchanges for established stars.

What makes this info from MacMahon different, though, is the fact Ingram's name may have been raised by the Lakers, not a suitor.

"I know that they were floating him in at least one trade for—I'll just go ahead and say it, that he was brought up in the Jimmy Butler stuff," MacMahon said.

Granted, that's not the easiest quote to dissect. There's a potentially big difference between the Lakers "floating" Ingram and his name merely being "brought up" over the course of discussions.

If the mention of Ingram came from the Minnesota Timberwolves side, this is perhaps par for the course regarding one of the Association's most intriguing youngsters. But if the Lakers were responsible, this represents a dramatic change from how the Lakers once viewed their prized pick.

"I would say probably the only player that we would say, 'hey, we would probably not move' is Brandon Ingram," Johnson said during a 2017 interview with ESPN Los Angeles, via ESPN's Baxter Holmes. "I think that we're excited about Brandon, his length, his size, his agility, his athleticism. And then when you think about, you know, he was a baby coming in, in his first year last season and we see that he really has a high ceiling and we're excited about what he can possibly turn into."

That excitement hasn't necessarily changed, even if the Lakers no longer keep Ingram under lock and key. It's just that the franchise's reality transformed in a massive way this summer, once LeBron James put pen to paper on a four-year, $154 million pact with the Purple and Gold.

As good as Ingram has been in spurts, there's no way of fast-tracking his development. That's fine when the Lakers are coming off a 56-loss season, as they were when Johnson made that quote.

But growing pains become an entirely different beast once a 33-year-old, future Hall of Famer arrives with an eight-year NBA Finals streak intact and dreams of chasing down six-time champion Michael Jordan.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Expectations have exponentially changed, opening up the debate of whether, as MacMahon put it, "Ingram [is] more valuable for the Lakers as LeBron's teammate or as a trade chip?"

Even if Ingram can eventually ascend higher than the players he's been connected with in trade chatter, are the Lakers and—more specifically—James able to wait on that rise?

James has already admitted his patience has worn thin during his initial run with the Lakers.

That's not on Ingram, of course, but it speaks to the lack of championship-ready pieces around James. L.A. is a lot closer to good than great right now, ranking ninth in winning percentage (.609) and 12th in net rating (plus-1.9). When James and Ingram have shared the floor, the Lakers have essentially broken even (plus-4 over 489 minutes).

That doesn't mean the club will (or even should) move Ingram. Sacrificing upside for immediate gratification isn't often a great way of conducting business.

But this does speak to how much has changed in L.A. with James coming on board. While the chance to reach greatness hasn't been this close in years, there's a finite window in which to achieve it.

That means the Lakers must decide sooner than later whether Ingram's own potential is greater than the potential of what he might fetch in the trade market.

Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com.