Two-time All-Star forward Brandon Ingram thinks he is getting close to making his 2026/27 season — and Clippers – debut tweets sideline reporter Ohm Youngmisuk. Ingram has been working 5-on-5 with contact in recent days as he ramps up his activity offseason heel surgery.
While Ingram said his heel is feeling better now, he doesn’t have a target date for his return, per Lou Murray of The Athletic (Link to Twitter).
“Whenever I feel ready. I still need to do more 5v5s and get comfortable on the floor, comfortable jumping and doing the things I normally do on the floor. It will take some time“, Ingram said.
Ingram, who was traded to the Clippers in September Kawhi Leonard blockbuster, confirmed Friday that his surgeon discovered and repaired a partially torn Achilles tendon while Ingram had surgery to remove bone spurs from his heel, according to Murray (Link to Twitter).
While the Clippers have struggled to open the season, currently holding a 1-7 record, which is the worst mark in the NBA, Ingram praised his teammates for how hard they played and believes there are brighter days on the horizon, as does Murray (Twitter references).
“Max (Strus) came back and made a big impact on the team. He made the team better. Janich (Conan Niederhauser) will be back soon. Soon some guys come back. So you know. As a complete team, I think we will fit together well” said Ingram. “And we will be a little better than we were. But those games we lost, we were right in the game. Just fix a few mistakes and we can win these games.”
Here’s more on the league’s two Los Angeles-based teams:
- Fast forward to the second year Goodbye Thierowho missed LakersThe first nine-gamer with a left knee injury will be active for Friday’s contest against Portland, the team announced (Link to Twitter via Khobi Price of The California Post). Before dealing with the injury, the 2025 second-round pick received praise from the head coach Jay Jay Reddick and a security guard Luka Doncic for the improvements he made over the summer.
- In a special story to The Athletic (free link), Dan Wojck details how Doncic felt comfortable while working at Lakers after the Slovenian superstar was initially stunned to be traded from Dallas to Los Angeles in February 2025. An important factor in Doncic’s acclimatization process was developing a close bond with the former lead video coordinator Michael Wechslerwho is the same age as Doncic and has been tasked with helping him warm up before games. Wexler was promoted to assistant coach over the summer. “We all seek companionship in different ways” Redick said.And if you decide you’re going to play a team sport and a career in a team sport with a long season that’s very stressful and gives you high levels of anxiety at different times – I mean performance anxiety, the good kind of anxiety and probably some bad as well – but it’s very rewarding to do it with people you enjoy being around.”
- Beginner wing Cameron Carr and a security guard Bronnie James were assigned to the Coachella Valley Lakers ahead of the G League team’s season opener on Friday, tweets Mark Stein of The Stein Line. Carr recently made his NBA debut after a tilt while James was out of the rotation to open his third season.
