The Los Angeles Lakers are straddling the line between developing young players like Brandon Ingram while planning on pursuing multiple max free agents in the 2018 offseason.

Ingram is trying to stay focused on the present.

“I don’t think about it right now,” Ingram told USA TODAY Sports about who might come join them this summer. “I’m still trying to figure out who I am, still trying to figure out my identity and work hard and try to figure out who I’m going to be as a player in the NBA.

“We’re just trying to build with what we have right now. We know we have a young core that’s really talented, with good attitudes, good character, and that work hard every single day. I think talking with (Lakers president of basketball operations) Magic (Johnson) and (general manager) Rob (Pelinka) and (head coach) Luke (Walton), they’re up for the process, the process of what we’re building with all these young guys. We know that something bigger and better is going to come out of this.”

Ingram has frequently drawn comparison to Kevin Durant, who has become a mentor to him.

“I just saw myself (as) long, athletic, and could get to the rim (like Durant),” Ingram said. “He could shoot the ball. I used to shoot the ball a little bit, had the midrange game. He was one of the best scorers in college (at Texas). I watched him from Montrose Christian (High School), Oak Hill (High), everything.

“He tells me (that) if I need anything to talk to him. He’s always giving me advice, when I’ve been struggling coming into the preseason, and even last year. He’s just telling me to enjoy the process, to keep working, and keep building confidence every single day. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Steve Alford defended Lonzo Ball against the criticism he's received this season.

Ball played for Alford for one season at UCLA.

“The thing … I am very impressed with him is that I think defensively, he's really working at it,” Alford said. “And defensively he's growing in that area. For a rookie, I think that's the hardest thing coming into the NBA, is to learn what you have to do defensively. And I was very impressed with that.

“I just think he's gotta get the ball. When he's got the ball, he makes people around him better, and I think the more trust there can be in Lonzo being the guy that facilitates the offense, because right now what's being critiqued is his jump shooting. That's not who he is. He's not a shooting guard.”

Alford said Ball’s shooting will improve the better he’s able to facilitate for others.

“In my 27 years of coaching, I've never seen anybody at the collegiate level … move the ball north-south any faster and more efficiently by the dribble and by the pass than Lonzo,” Alford said. “And when that trust happens, and he's allowed to do those things, I think you'll see teammates’ game go up, you'll see passing, the joy of passing will go up in that organization. And when that happens he's going to get easier shots, and he'll make those shots.”

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't considered removing Lonzo Ball from their starting lineup despite his inconsistencies. 

“The benefit is he gets the game experience,” Luke Walton said this week. “Whether it’s close games, it’s blowouts, it’s playing against top elite point guards that do different things. John Wall, as good as it gets at getting to the rim, a [Russell] Westbrook, a Steph Curry. So he gets all that in-game experience on the go and gets to learn from it all.”

Ball has mainly struggled with his shooting and defense.

“Being a rookie you usually have more time to adjust to NBA life. You get little opportunities here and there and you grow from those. You have vets that kind of take you under their wing and show you how it’s done at this level and it’s more of a patient process,” Walton said.

“He’s handling it well so I think this way is working for him because I think it’s going to accelerate his timetable as far as taking steps in his own personal game, but it’s got its give and take.”

Lonzo Ball rejected a traditional sneaker endorsement from at least one company worth $10 million over four years.

LaVar Ball handled negotiations as he was seeking $1 billion for Big Baller Brand.

"A billion dollars, it has to be there," Ball told USA Today in the spring. "That's our number, a billion, straight out of the gate. And you don't even have to give it to me all up front. Give us $100 mil over 10 years."

Big Baller Brand has been in development for several months.

The Los Angeles Lakers have interest in Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

Kuzminskas was released by the New York Knicks when they had to create a roster spot for Joakim Noah.

The Lakers are in need of perimeter shooting on the wing.

Lonzo Ball went to the Los Angeles Lakers' training facility to work on his shot following their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Ball also arrived to Thursday's practice early to get extra shots up.

Ball went 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-6 on three-pointers in the game. Ball is shooting just 30.3 percent from the field and 23.0 percent on three-pointers this season.

Luke Walton said Ball will remain the Lakers' starting point guard despite his struggles.

“It's tough to answer personal questions on him, but his energy seemed not the same playful, joyful Lonzo that he normally is but that could be a good thing, that he’s frustrated and mad a little bit," said Walton.

Kyle Kuzma had dinner with Kobe Bryant on Tuesday evening.

Kuzma reached out to Bryant to forge a relationship and to receive mentorship.

“Just work,” Kuzma said when asked about Bryant's message. “That’s cliché, but that’s what he stands for, that’s what he values. That’s what I value. So that was really the message.”

Kuzma also said the discussion was very detail-oriented, focusing on “a lot of little things within basketball that go a long way.”

Rob Pelinka and Bryant still communicate frequently.

“He’s just really enjoyed the way Kyle’s attacked his rookie year,” Pelinka said. “The mentality he’s played with. For him to grab dinner with him, swap war stories, is invaluable. And I think Kyle was in awe by everything he heard.”

“I want to be good,” Kuzma said before Wednesday’s game. “Why not learn from one of the best? So I took that approach. Of course, it was cool. But I had a lot of questions and I was really excited just to get to know him, meet him, learn from him.”

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac to the South Bay Lakers.

Zubac appeared in 14 games for the then-D-Fenders during the 2016-17 season, where he averaged 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game. The second-year center has appeared in two games for Los Angeles this season.

Hart has appeared in 11 games for Los Angeles this season. The 6-5 rookie out of Villanova has posted averages of 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 13.6 minutes per game.

Los Angeles has also recalled rookie center Thomas Bryant from the South Bay Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers will remain patient with Lonzo Ball's shooting form and address it in the offseason.

Ball is shooting just 31 percent from the floor and 25 percent on three-pointers.

"I think it's a fine line because what you have to do is first, he's been shooting that way his whole life," said Magic Johnson on ESPN's Mike and Mike. "So what we wanted to do is let him play his game. Let him shoot the way he's been shooting and hopefully they'll go in. And so, we're not gonna mess with it. We're gonna let him shoot and play his game. If after the season, and he's not shooting well, then we'll sit down with him and say, 'Hey, let's maybe look at different way or let's try to improve the way you are shooting.'

"We can break it down with him, but we don't want to mess with his shot. He's proven that he's knocked that shot down. And we want to encourage him to keep shooting."  

Lonzo Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with his 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' 98-90 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

LeBron James was the previous holder of the mark.

“I really don’t give a … I’ve played this way my whole life,” Ball told The Vertical. “In today’s NBA, a lot of point guards get buckets, but I go off my impact and what I can do to win games. It’s not going to be scoring every night, but I’m trying to improve that. The way I play, it comes from Dad. He really don’t care about noise either. My dad had me on lesser teams, so I had to do more and it prepares me.

“For us, it’s tough to lose on this road trip. We come out here in different time zones and play good teams night in and night out. We need to learn from it and get wins.”

Ball is determined to follow his own judgment despite the highs and lows of his rookie season.

“My impact is on wins and losses,” he said, “and tonight we lost, but we have to keep going.”