Down the stretch of this season, arguably the biggest bright spot for the Los Angeles Lakers was rookie forward Brandon Ingram. With so much talent and potential, both Luke Walton and Magic Johnson have pushed Ingram to spend some time this summer working out with legend Kobe Bryant.
Ingram certainly sounded intent on gaining some knowledge from one of the greatest players to ever suit up in the NBA, but with the offseason only recently beginning, the rookie has yet to reach out to the future Hall of Famer.
Nonetheless, Bryant spoke to Mark Medina of the OC Register and said that he’s sure Ingram will reach out to him:
“I’m always around. So if he wants to come (down) and work out, he has my cell obviously. I’m sure he’ll reach out at some point and come (down) to O.C. and we’ll get a workout in. It’s no problem.”
Kobe also noted that it’s important to focus only on a couple of things each offseason as opposed to trying to fix everything in one summer:
“It’s just consistency. That’s all it is, consistency. You don’t build an entire package of the game on one summer. You focus on one or two things throughout the summer,” Bryant said.
“You master those things. Then the following summer, you focus on another one or two things. Then the following summer, it’s another one or two things. Five years from now, you have a game that has no weaknesses in it. But it’s not done in one summer. It’s about having a five-year plan, a 10-year plan and understanding how to get there.”
In addition to Ingram, point guard D’Angelo Russell has also said that he plans on contacting Bryant this summer for some workouts. Both young players would undoubtedly benefit from the knowledge that Kobe has to offer.
Kobe is obviously very busy with his business ventures, but he has always said he’s just one call away if the Lakers need him. From the looks of it, he will be getting a few calls from some young Lakers.