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Shortly after Magic Johnson was named the Los Angeles Lakers next president of basketball operations, he stated that forward Brandon Ingram was untouchable in trade talks.
This has immediately thrust a much larger weight of expectations on the 20-year-old to develop into a special talent that the organization can depend on and build around for the next several years. During a recent interview with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, Ingram stated that these comments only drive him further to work harder at his craft.
Article Continues Below“When you really think about it, it shouldn’t make you comfortable at all. It should make you work even harder. It’s not a burden, but he put it on you, so you feel like you want to go even harder to show that this is the reason why he said this. For me, my own expectations are higher than what anybody else can say. But Magic sits on that sideline every single day and gives advice to each and every guy whether they’re playing or not. It’s special to see him giving pointers whether it’s defense, offense, on the court, off the court. It’s going to help us.”
It's clear that Ingram possesses the mentality that is needed to fulfill the massive potential that is there for him to develop into a premier talent in the league. This includes the expectation of a huge leap in his second year to which Johnson believes he can average more than 20 points a game.
He has already put forth a concerted effort this offseason in working on getting body stronger to prepare for the physical grind of an NBA season but also working on improving his shooting mechanics to make himself a better and more efficient scorer.
There may be a heavy load of expectations ahead of him but Ingram appears to be ready to meet them head-on this upcoming season.
