Lakers Offseason News: Brandon Ingram to use Kobe Bryant’s old locker

At his exit interview following the conclusion of the Los Angeles Lakers 2015-16 season, Mitch Kupchak gave the press a wonderful anecdote about how hard it was to, after 20 seasons, erase Kobe Bryant’s name off of the team’s depth chart. Replacing it there will be the names of Luol Deng, who recently agreed to a four-year deal with the team, and rookie small forward Brandon Ingram.

Bryant’s shoes won’t be easy to fill, but we now know where the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft will store them. Mike Bresnahan of Time Warner Cable Sportsnet reported before the Lakers’ introductory press conference for Ingram on Tuesday morning that the team has given Ingram Bryant’s old locker for the upcoming season.

While the team surely hopes Ingram will be able to do anything close to approximating Bryant’s highs with the only franchise he’s ever known, it will still be a while before that becomes an at all realistic possibility. Still, this is an interesting gesture from the team, and could serve as further motivation for the already hard working 18-year old.

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