(Photo by yours truly)
The 2018 NBA Draft Lottery was upon us and the Sacramento Kings were once again, close, but no cigar when it came to the playoffs. I lied, they were terrible. 27-55 and with one hopeful to be a franchise savior in point guard DeAaron Fox, Sactown wanted to get a high draft pick to add to a very interesting and hopefully, an exciting young nucleus to lead the Kings to a playoff berth. And would you know it, the Sacramento Kings secured the #2 pick in the draft! The Phoenix Suns ended up getting the first pick. With talent as Arizona center DeAndre Ayton, Duke forward Marvin Bagley III, Slovenian phenom Luka Doncic and Oklahoma guard Trae Young there for the taking, the Sacramento Kings were in position to take a running buddy for Fox. After the Suns selected Ayton #1, the Kings were probably salivating at the rest of the class. Many thought adding Doncic would make this team a playoff contender overnight. However, there have been backstage stories that then-Kings GM Vlade Divac wasn't fond of Doncic's father, Sasa. Think about this. If this was the supposed factor on why Sacramento shied on Doncic, it seems petty now. So, the Kings decided to take Bagley III with the second pick. I, as a Kings fan, imagined Fox running a fast break and lobbing an alley-oop to a streaking MBIII for a thunderous finish. As a middle aged man, not much makes yours truly giddy. This vivid imagination made me giddy.
Watching highlights of MBIII at Duke, he was a joy to watch. 7 feet tall who runs the floor like gazelle, the wingspan to snatch a rebound and the ability to hit an outside shot without a hitch. He was a left handed Kevin Garnett by proxy. There were times where he flashed that potential and looked to dominate the NBA. His rookie season was solid (14.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 50% FGP). Heading into his second campaign, Marvin Bagley III was about to embark on a very fruitful NBA career. Sigh.
During his sophomore season, Bagley III seemed to regress and would have durability issues. Injury problems plagued MBIII in his rookie season and it continued in the next season......and the next. Despite the season being cancelled due to the pandemic, the restart gave the Kings a second life. Then, MBIII was hurt again and Sacramento was all but over.
The third season seemed to be solid at around a 14 PPG, 7 RPG clip. I mean, when he was healthy, he could be a factor. The key problem is he was hardly healthy, playing only 43 games that season. This was starting to make fans and people associated with the Kings frustrated since this has been a recurring theme for a franchise known to draft busts in the first round. It also didn't help that Marvin Bagley III's father,......Marvin Bagley II (C'mon, you knew that was his name was.) decided to go public and tell the Kings to trade his son. This is not going to end well.
So, as Bagley III entered his fourth season, the Kings, unsurprising, didn't give him a big extension as his contract would expire at the end of the season. Then head coach Luke Walton announced that he was leaving MBIII out of the rotation. At this point, the Sacramento Kings made the move to pour the gasoline on the bridge when it came to their relationship with Bagley III. Oh, and MBIII's agent had the stones to bash the organization for that. So, in the last two years, Marvin's father and agent used their anger to go public with the way the franchise treated or played MBIII. Not really a great look. While the Kings poured that gasoline on the bridge, MBIII proceeded to light the match and set it ablaze. During a game recently, Walton wanted him to enter the contest, but Bagley III refused. This is DEFINITELY not going to end well.
So, as of now, Marvin Bagley III has played one game and ten minutes total. Not exactly what they had in mind for a #2 overall pick. MBIII now joins the list of Thomas Robinson, Ben McLemore, Nik Stuskas, Willie Cauley-Stein.....yeah, its like that. And to think they would have had Luka Doncic, who is basically the new face of the NBA.
See what I mean.
Oh, same ol' Sacramento Kings it looks like.
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