Lakers News: Brandon Ingram Undergoes Successful Surgery on Shoulder Blood Clot

The Los Angeles Lakers announced small forward Brandon Ingram had successful thoracic outlet decompression surgery on his right arm Saturday.

Ingram, who was diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) on March 8, will miss the rest of the 2018-19 NBA campaign but is "expected to make a full recovery" before next season.

The 21-year-old Duke product averaged a career-best 18.3 points to go with 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists across 52 appearances for the Lakers this season. His shooting percentage (49.7) also set a career high.

As a whole, Los Angeles failed to live up to expectations following the arrival of superstar free agent LeBron James, though. The front office has started looking toward the future, with point guard Lonzo Ball also shut down because of a lingering ankle injury, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

Lakers power forward Kyle Kuzma told Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group he was disappointed for Ingram after the DVT diagnosis:

"I was real sad. It hits home for me because I know how much Brandon works, I know how bad he wants to be great, I know much he loves the game of basketball. He never sits out at practice, he's always in the gym. He can't do nothing for at least, I don't know how long they said, to be on blood thinners and not do anything—I couldn't imagine what it's like so I feel for him every day."

L.A. will likely attempt to become a major player in the free-agent market once again this summer, so it's unclear what type of role Ingram and Ball may be expected to fill next season, assuming they aren't traded.

The Lakers didn't provide a firm timetable for Ingram's recovery beyond the expectation he'll be ready when the 2019-20 campaign opens.