Los Angeles Lakers trade rumors 2016: Brandon Ingram has weight of expectation on his shoulders

If there was any doubt on how high expectations are on Brandon Ingram as the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, then recent revelations from his peers confirm that now.

SB Nation recently reported that his fellow 2016 draftees were asked who among them were going to have the best career overall in the league, and a whopping 26.7 percent of the votes all pointed to Ingram.

That is an impressive number given that Ingram wasn't the top pick in the draft.

However, that's just the tip of the surprise that was in store. The top pick, Ben Simmons, does not make the cut until fourth place as Kris Dunn and Buddy Hield complete the top three.

Simmons is fourth along with Dragan Bender, Jaylen Brown, and Jamal Murray.

Furthermore, Uproxx also reported that many picked Dunn to win the Rookie of the Year, but with him playing with the Minnesota Timberwolves and behind Ricky Rubio, it might be far-fetched.

That leaves Ingram as the choice. He finished second in the picks but is more likely to start or have a lot of playing time that Dunn. Simmons is third in the list.

Ingram has to compete with Luol Deng for the starting slot, but it is likely that Ingram will have almost an equal opportunity as Deng, given that expectation and stock for the Duke University standout are high, and that his game is very challenging for other players in the small forward position.

Ingram had a great season with Duke last year, appearing in 36 games and averaging 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

He is excellent inside and very dependable outside, and those might be the reasons why many think he is most likely to succeed.

Many are anticipating the new season after players moved to other teams, but the excitement that the rookies have given so far should be another highlight.