Ingram Won't Be There When Camp Opens

Brandon Ingram had surgery and will miss the start of the 2026–27 season, the team confirmed Monday. That's a significant blow for a franchise that gave up Kawhi Leonard — 27.3 points a game on 50.4% shooting last year — specifically to get him.

The timing is rough. The Clippers enter training camp without Ingram, without Jordan Miller, and with Bradley Beal and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also sidelined. What's left up front is a collection of capable role players: Rui Hachimura on a two-year deal, Max Strus in from Cleveland, Derrick Jones Jr. returning. Gradey Dick, the other piece of the Toronto trade, is available. Ivica Zubac — 13.9 points and 10.6 rebounds last season — holds down the paint. It's a functional group, but it's not the group this reset was designed around.

Which means, at least to start, this is James Harden's team in the most literal sense. He averaged 8.1 assists last season, and the offense will run through him until Ingram is healthy. The concern there is well-documented: down the stretch last year, Harden took more shots and made fewer of them, and the team went 5–5 while getting outscored. More usage hasn't been the answer. The hope was that Ingram's arrival would take some of that weight off. That wait just got longer.

No timetable has been given for Ingram's return. The Clippers open camp already operating under five stripped draft picks, a suspended owner, and a federal investigation that hasn't resolved. Adding an injured centerpiece to that list is just where things stand right now.