3. Brandon Ingram, Forward
Team: Boston Celtics
Original Draft Slot: 2
Drafting Ingram was by no means a bad move for the Lakers, at least as it appears to this day. Ingram is having a big season with the Pelicans where he is likely to be a first-time All-Star selection. But Ingram does still need to improve his play on the defensive end of the floor, which actually regressed a tad bit so far this season.
This 2016 NBA Draft class was loaded on the wing. With all the three-and-D wing talent that was selected in the 2016 draft that tends to be so sought after by NBA scouts to this day, any team that passed up on the opportunity to snag a star at this position has to be kicking themselves. But Ingram was picked second overall, so only two teams got the chance to snag him.
So far this season, Ingram is averaging 25.3 points per game, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three-point range. Ingram had incremental improvements in each of the last three seasons, but this is the first where he’s truly breaking out.
The original pick here by the Boston Celtics went to the former Cal Golden Bears 6-foot-6 small forward Jaylen Brown. The Celtics really couldn’t go wrong by re-picking either Brown or Ingram. But Ingram gets the slight edge thanks to his whole body of work and All-Star caliber production thus far in his fourth season.