After seeing how Marvin Bagley III fared during his summer league campaign, will the Sacramento Kings regret drafting the former Duke star? Check out my current grade for the pick.
Last May, the Sacramento Kings were rewarded by the NBA Gods with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft. With that pick, the Kings had a great opportunity to choose a potential star for their franchise as the draft class was expected to be loaded with talent.
Fast forward to June and the Kings finally made their pick. Vlade Divac decided to go with Marvin Bagley III who was a star player at his time with the Duke Blue Devils. With his combination of athleticism and drive, Bagley has the potential to be a star player in the NBA.
Marvin’s Summer League
So far, Bagley has only represented Sacramento in four summer league games. During that span, Bagley was so-so as he showcased both his strengths and weaknesses as a player. In the end, he averaged 10.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 33.3% from the floor and 10% from the perimeter.
A Better Option Than Marvin?
Although Bagley showed flashes of his potential this summer, was it the right move for the Kings to select him at #2? Although I love Bagley’s motor and relentlessness, I do think there was a better option for the Kings. That option would be Luka Doncic who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks.
To me, I believe Doncic would have helped the Kings more than Bagley due to him being the more skilled and NBA-ready player. But with that being said, I think both players will have good NBA careers and I am happy the Kings ended up choosing one of the two.
Did The Kings Make A Mistake?
Overall, I do think Sacramento may have some regret in choosing Bagley over Doncic, but that does not mean I think of Bagley as a liability. In fact, I do believe Bagley will be an asset to the Kings going forth. I just think Doncic would have helped Sacramento more.
Although Bagley’s weaknesses were exposed in the summer league games, he also showed doses of how dominant he can be for the purple and white as well. Hopefully, Bagley ends up having a good career with the Kings. He needs to if Vlade Divac and company want their rebuild to become a success.