Lakers lock up Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr for 2018-19 season

The Los Angeles Lakers have exercised their team options for the 2018-19 NBA season on forwards Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. The new Lakers front office, run by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, has often praised both Ingram and Nance.

Nance has proven to be one of the steals of the 2015 NBA Draft. Since joining the Purple & Gold, Nance has played in 126 games (29 starts), averaging a tally of 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. This season, Nance has started in all three games, averaging a career-high tally of 11.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals from 22 minutes per game. He's shooting an impressive 55 percent from the field.

Will Brandon Ingram live up to the hype?

Ingram, however, is off to a rather disappointing start in his career. After the Lakers selected Ingram No. 2 overall in last year's draft, the lanky forward struggled to cope with the physicality of the NBA and made 40 starts out of the 79 games in his rookie season. He averaged 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a rookie, en route the All-Rookie Second Team.

This season, Ingram is averaging 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists from 28.8 minutes per game. However, he's shooting less than 40 percent from the field and has often found himself in foul trouble.

The Lakers have missed the playoffs for four consecutive years. However, they could be just a year away from returning to championship contention under the new regime of president Johnson. The team of Johnson and Pelinka is reportedly angling to sign two max-level free agents next offseason when the likes of LeBron James, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan hit the market. By keeping their 2017-18 payroll under control, Los Angeles believes it has a shot at least two superstars next July.

Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr. & Co. will host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday (Thursday). The pre-match chatter has been dominated by Marcin Gortat's tweet in which the Wizards big man predicts Lonzo Ball will be tortured by All-Star guard John Wall when the teams meet at the Staples Center.