With that in mind, a deal including Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and the host of second round picks they sent to New Orleans may have been enough to get a trade for Simmons done.
That would have left the Lakers with that No 4 pick to dangle in other trade talks now, something the Cleveland Cavaliers or Detroit Pistons would certainly welcome.
Pairing Simmons alongside James would create some growing pains but the argument to be made here would be for the four-time MVP to be more dominant on the scoring end with the Australian being the main creator.
Add a Andre Drummond or Kevin Love to that mix and you have a bonafide ‘big three’ to lead the Lakers to an NBA Championship.
Lakers possible starting five: Ben Simmons, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Andre Drummond/ Kevin Love