Brandon Ingram taking steps towards return with Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors may not have seen Brandon Ingram hit the court yet for them, but he’s getting closer to his healthy self.
Acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans in a blockbuster deal just before the trade deadline, the 27-year-old one-time All-Star has been out since mid-December with a severe ankle sprain.
“He’s been progressing with running,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said prior to yesterday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. “He’s been progressing with some lateral movement as well. He’s still not doing anything in contact, but we’ve seen the progress.ā
Rajakovic added that he planned to update the media in 10 days about his availability, meaning he’d at earliest have a chance to play for Toronto on their April 3 game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Toronto has 11 games left in their season, barring a late-season push to the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Raptors are currently six games out of the 10th-seeded Miami Heat, meaning they’d need quite the winning streak to make the postseason.
For Raptors fans hoping that the team increases their odds at this May’s NBA Draft Lottery, many of them might actually prefer that Ingram rests until the fall before making his debut with Toronto.
Ingram has averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game with the Pelicans this season. He last played on Dec. 7 of last year, and has only played in 18 games all season.
Despite only having seen him actually suit up for opponents in full-speed game action, Toronto’s coaching staff seems to have high praise for Ingram.
āI think heās an amazing talent, one of the best shooters in the league. So weāre definitely excited to have him join our team and to learn our style, to learn how we want to play, how we want to share the ball,ā Rajakovic had said earlier in the month. “[I’m] diving into his game and how that translates in our team.ā