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There have been many changes to the Los Angeles Lakers since their season ended, and many more to come in the upcoming weeks.
After the firing of both Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers quickly moved guard Lou Williams to a destination of his choice, and hired long-time agent Rob Pelinka as the General Manger.
The Lakers then secured the second pick in the NBA Draft lottery, and the time for tinkering with the roster again is near. Nothing has happened yet, but everyone is waiting for the eventual bomb to drop which has rumors flying around everywhere.
Will the Lakers trade for Paul George, or will they draft Lonzo Ball even with a young and still-developing D'Angelo Russell on the roster. None of those questions have answers yet, but the Lakers have already decided which players they will not trade.
When asked by ESPN's Serena Winters about who is under the untouchable category, Lakers President of basketball operations Magic Johnson who usually doesn't prefer to call any player as a sacred cow, only named one player whom he feels he can build around.
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“Brandon (Ingram) is a guy we probably won't think about moving, ever.”
While Johnson has yet to reveal his hand, the fear of impatience and not developing young talent doesn't appear to be the direction. The most important thing is the end goal, which is to make the franchise a winner again, and that will come with some patience and aggressiveness. The decision to trade for George who would play with Ingram on the wing doesn't have to come with sacrificing depth if they choose to wait until he's a free agent next summer.
Ingram isn't a break out star player nor a Rookie of the Year candidate this season, but he did show flashes of what his talent can become, granted he keeps working hard and listening to the right people. Ingram recently offered praise for Johnson for giving him advice during the season that helped him play better on the court, and was also encouraged to work out with Kobe Bryant in the off-season.
For now, the Lakers seem content on him being a part of the core that will carry over into the team's future, but there remains that question for everyone else not named Ingram.
