Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons to give Brandon Ingram a max contract

1. More room for growth

The fit between the rising star Ingram and the Chicago Bulls with their current personnel on hand could be very natural. Ingram could be a true small forward that the Bulls immediately slot as the figurehead in the starting five. He could take a lot of the offensive scoring pressure off LaVine’s shoulders, and allow Coby to spark the offense in transition like he should be doing.

So far this season, Ingram is averaging 24.5 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from beyond the arc. The shooting efficiency Ingram is posting from two-point range and from deep is something that would contribute a lot to the Bulls struggling transition into the modern age of NBA offensive schemes.

Although Ingram still has a long way to go on his defensive play, he is making small but steady strides over the course of the last three years. He’s posting a career-high -0.3 defensive box plus/minus rating. And his 1.4 defensive win shares on the season so far is close to setting a career-best number.

According to Basketball Index, Ingram is still around the mark of -1.50 in defensive PIPM rating. But that is actually better than any of his previous marks in the NBA so far.

Moreover, according to 538’s RAPTOR player ratings, Ingram is posting a career best 3.4 wins above replacement and his defensive efficiency is improving at a carer-high mark of -1.3.