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Los Angeles Lakers: Ben Simmons Or Brandon Ingram?

By Chris Walton

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the stage before the start of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the stage before the start of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Should the Los Angeles Lakers keep their pick as the top selection, they will be faced with a huge decision.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a very good chance at landing one of the NBA’s top two draft selections in the upcoming lottery in June. While only trailing the Philadelphia 76ers for the league’s worst winning percentage, the team is hoping to fall under protection to keep their pick away from the 76ers.

The pick is to be conveyed to Philadelphia if it falls outside the top three, but if they are fortunate enough to escape with their pick like last year, the Lakers are going to be faced with a win-win scenario in some sorts. This scenario will essentially focus around them nailing their next big star as a franchise, and hopefully push them back into the conversation of the league’s elite.

Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons are the talk of all the potential draft candidates this season. Ingram currently is under the tutelage of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski with the Duke Blue Devils, while Simmons is helping resurrect the LSU Tigers.

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With both players sharing the same position at small forward, each could fill an immediate need in Los Angeles as soon as they are drafted. It’s not as easy a task as fans would believe in this scenario, though.

Simmons and Ingram are actually quite the opposite in terms of their on-court profile.

Simmons is a physically one of the more NBA-ready prospects we’ve seen in a while. Not only does he possess uncanny size at 6’10″, but this guy fills the stat sheet with no sweat.

Per draftexpress.com, here’s Simmons’ season splits: 27 total games, 19.4 points a game on 56.1 percent shooting to go with 12 rebounds and five assists per game.

Mashed in those 27 games of tremendous all-around stats is an unreal game of 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and three blocks.

Simmons possesses that rare ability of rebounding and playmaking. Looking at guys like Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard, that skill set of grabbing it off the glass and pushing the break helps teams mightily. For the Lakers to get a player like this would add a great dimension to their young talent.

The biggest knock on Simmons has been his jump shot, especially his long-range shooting. On the season, Simmons has only made 1-of-3 three-point shots. With the NBA needing forwards who can stretch the floor, questions are valid regarding Simmons’ fit.

Along with his shooting, Simmons also must carry the burden of showing maturity off the court as such a young and prolific prospect. Recently he was benched for academic reasons by LSU. Presumably, Simmons won’t have to worry about those things if he decides to go pro, but he still must prove himself responsible to handle similar things as a professional.

With a big city like Los Angeles being a career possibility, the distractions and obligations will be plentiful for a young talent like Simmons.

Ingram is certainly no slouch himself. In terms of versatility, size, and big-play ability, he has held his own as one of the nation’s best players.

Ingram’s sweet shooting stroke is his strongest tool in his repertoire.

His stats for yearcourtesy of draftexpress.com: 27 games, 17 points per game on 46.1 percent shooting (40.8 percent from three-point range), and seven rebounds a game.

Ingram has drawn comparison to Kevin Durant, much in part due to his wiry frame, size (6’10”) and sweet shooting stroke. He’s also done himself a huge favor by showing scouts he loves the big moments recently against rival North Carolina.

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Compared to Simmons, Ingram plays on a slightly bigger stage for a legendary program. With all respect to Simmons’ coaching staff, Ingram may already be getting the jump on the benefits of playing under a coach like Krzyzewski.

Coach Krzyzewski has coached the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Durant, so his familiarity with star power looks to be translating well to Ingram’s college adjustment.

As mentioned, Ingram is a very skinny guy. He barely scratches the surface of 200 pounds. Heading into a league with most small forwards playing anywhere from there to the center position, he’ll have to add on weight. The possibility of not gaining the necessary strength could lead to struggles in the NBA.

At the end of the day, the Lakers may lean more towards Ben Simmons. While Ingram would fit seamlessly with the Lakers young core with his scoring from all over the floor, the need for star power may prove too much to ignore. Simmons has charisma and ability to affect the game reminiscent to a young James.

As for his shooting, there’s no reason it shouldn’t improve at the pro level with more time and effort to dedicate to training.

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Regardless of who they have a chance to get, the Lakers would be in a definite win-win situation. Now the team must hope the ping pong balls are kind to them as much as they were last season.

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