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They say to only put so much stock into summer exhibitions, yet it’s likely hard for fans to ignore the fact the Los Angeles Lakers are down two critical pieces of the future already.

Speculation about who the Lakers might pursue this year or how they might save up for 2018 aside, this upcoming season centers on Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram—two players already showing up on the injury report.

It’s a tough pill to swallow with the 2017-18 supposedly set to be a better on-court viewing experience than a year ago. Ball and Ingram putting on a show while they develop could help lure free agents like say, Paul George or LeBron James, not to mention simply put the team in a great position.

So while it’s just the summer, the confident swagger walking into 2017 has turned at least slightly into a limp. Here’s the latest on the injuries and a potential 2018 target.

 PG13 Talk Continues

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The open flirtation between the Lakers and Paul George isn’t going to just go away because the star forward landed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Said flirtation has been a staple of George’s career—he’s from California and it was something of a shocker the first time he re-upped with the Indiana Pacers years ago despite the Lakers surely being willing to bring him on board.

George had enough of struggling in the Eastern Conference, though, and forced his way out of Indiana. The fact the Lakers didn’t give up pieces in a trade to finally get him reinforces speculation he’ll end up with the team in 2018 via free agency.

But it might not be so simple. Look at what NBA TV analyst Danny Granger said of his former teammate recently, according to Erik Horne of the Oklahoman: “If they can put something together in Oklahoma where they can win, will that mean L.A.’s completely out of play in free agency? No. L.A.’s always in play.”

The general theme suggests George wants to win more than he wants a preferred locale, as Granger even hinted he would’ve stayed with the Pacers if the team had fielded a contender.

Meaning, there are two extremes Lakers fans should watch for when it comes to the Thunder. One is the Russell Westbrook-George tandem to compete for a title and ruin any chance the Lakers have. Two is Westbrook still refusing to ink an extension with the team, perhaps forcing the front office there to trade him before getting back nothing in return for his eventual departure like it did with Kevin Durant.

Either way, the Lakers need to finally show a potential free agent like George he’d be the missing piece to a playoff team heading in the right direction. All of which makes the current injury report relatively concerning.

Brandon Ingram Injury Update

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Ingram gave fans a potential glimpse of the future by putting on a show in a recent Las Vegas Summer League game—before getting shut down by Magic Johnson himself thanks to a leg issue.

After dropping 26 points and heading to overtime against the Clippers, Ingram found himself on the bench with the game on the line after the organization received a bit of a scare from a possible injury, as captured by Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:

LakersNation.com’s Serena Winters followed with thoughts from inside the organization:

It’s a shame, as Ingram was clearly on his way to dominating the summer league while warming up for next season—not that he expected any different.

“I’m playing against guys that just came out of college. That’s nothing compared to the league,” Ingram said, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “When you come out here, you expect to play like this. It was a no-brainer for me.”

After a season in which he only averaged 9.4 points per game while the coaching staff took it slow thanks to his rookie status, it would’ve been nice for Ingram to get the full experience this summer before heading into a full-time role.

He’ll have to go without ahead of a season in which his play could perhaps influence George and other summer 2018 free agents. 

Lonzo Ball Injury Update

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Though the Ingram news isn’t ideal, the situation surrounding Ball manages to register as even worse.

Ball, all of 19 years old, clearly needs the reps this summer as he tries to adapt to the pro game. This was apparent enough after a 2-of-15 shooting debut with five points in his first game before he followed up with a triple-double.

The inconsistency is something summer exhibitions have a way of ironing out, so it came as a surprise to hear of his injury and resulting game off Monday night, according to USA Today‘s Sam Amick:

As Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell pointed out, Ball was far from the only one dealing with issues:

Wednesday, clearly, will be an important day of the summer for the Lakers.

Though some pointed out Ball’s injury coincided with a matchup against De’Aaron Fox, who dropped 39 points on him in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament this year, it’d be hard to argue in the face of Ball’s recent improvement that it had anything to do with sitting him.

After all, Ball’s second summer game was the first triple-double in the Las Vegas league’s history since it started tracking stats in 2008, per the NBA’s Twitter account. The outburst was a direct result of the Lakers picking up the pace and letting Ball run the offense in transition, which is where he excelled at UCLA.

If the Lakers are lucky, the two injuries are minor and not a hint of what’s to come—especially with George and others are watching.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.