Last season, Brandon Ingram had to prove it.
In a three-month span, Ingram underwent surgery to repair blood clotting near his right shoulder and was traded to a new team with one year remaining on his rookie deal. When he got to New Orleans, there was little traction between him and the Pelicans on a contract extension.
Ingram knew he was playing for a new deal, and he delivered. He led the Pelicans in scoring, was named an All-Star and took home Most Improved Player. He was rewarded with a five-year, $158 million contract.
The situation he was in more than a year ago is similar to the one his friend and teammate, Lonzo Ball, finds himself in now. Ball and the Pelicans have less than three weeks to agree on a contract extension. If they can’t find middle ground by Dec. 21, the 23-year-old point guard will enter into a crucial contract year.
“Just go out there and do what I know I can do on the court,” Ball said. “I believe I’m a triple-double threat every night. That’s what I’m going to go out there and try to do.”
Ball acknowledged that his first season in New Orleans was “up and down.” He got off to a slow start, which resulted in him getting relegated to the bench in early December. He rebounded, and for a 2½-month stretch, he showed he could be the conductor of a highly entertaining, efficient offense. But during the NBA restart, Ball was practically invisible. He failed to score in double digits until New Orleans’ seventh game inside the bubble, at which point it was already eliminated from playoff contention.
“It just comes down to consistency,” Ball said. “Doing it night in and night out. Taking it one game at a time.”
In his rookie season, Zion Williamson endured turbulence.
In September, Ball signed with Klutch Sports, the agency that orchestrated Anthony Davis’ trade to the Lakers. It was the fourth time Ball switched representation since he came into the league in 2017.
This offseason, Ball worked diligently on his game. Injuries have hampered him throughout the three years of his career. As a rookie, he dealt with a sprained MCL. In his second season, left ankle issues limited him to 47 games. Last season, he was briefly sidelined in November with an adductor strain.
“This was a different type of offseason, but for me, this was the longest offseason I’ve had,” Ball said. “I was definitely happy to get that time to work on my game and show what I can do this year.”
This season, the Pelicans plan to start the 6-foot-6 Ball and the 6-1 Eric Bledsoe together. New coach Stan Van Gundy has stressed that the Pelicans must improve on defense in order to make a serious run at the playoffs. Van Gundy, whose teams have historically played at a slow pace, has also said he wants to run opportunistically because of his personnel.
"On the offensive end of the floor, I don’t think there’s anyone better in the NBA in terms of advancing the ball up the floor for your team quickly before the other team’s defense is set,” Van Gundy said of Ball. “So many times in watching the Pelicans, both to do broadcasting, and now starting to study our team, there’s so many times he’ll catch an outlet or an in-bounds pass and advance the ball up the floor with a pass without ever taking a dribble, and that is very unique in the NBA.”
Last season, Ball forged an on-court connection with Zion Williamson immediately. Those two routinely connected on alley-oops from 50 or 60 feet away. While Van Gundy is not known as a run-and-gun coach, he has said he doesn’t want to stamp that out of the Pelicans’ offense.
It will be interesting to see how Ball fares under Van Gundy, the most demanding coach he's had at the NBA level. If Ball doesn’t get an extension before the Dec. 22 season opener, he is hopeful he can follow Ingram’s blueprint to breaking through in a contract year.
“I know for myself, experience, when you go through it, it makes you a better person and a better basketball player,” Ingram said. “When you go through everything that he went through, having the chance to have a healthy offseason, healthy end of the season, it’s going to be a big difference. I know he’s motivated.”
For the second season in a row, the New Orleans Pelicans will be a part of the NBA's Christmas Day slate.
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Pelicans' Lonzo Ball hoping to follow Brandon Ingram's blueprint in possible 'prove-it' year - NOLA.com
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