Dave Joerger is out; Luke Walton is in. How will the latest coaching change for the Sacramento Kings affect the careers of the Kings’ two rookie big men?
We’ve arrived at the final Rookie Report for the year! And as the cliché goes, what a long, strange season it’s been — for the Sacramento Kings,
The 2018-19 season was easily the most successful season for the Sacramento Kings in over a decade. Regardless, it’s hard not to feel disappointed in a playoff run that ended up being more of a light jog. So light, in fact, that Dave Joerger got shown the door in favor of Luke Walton, who days ago was relieved of his duties in Lakersland himself.
What will this coaching change mean for the Kings’ impending sophomores (they grow up so fast)? How do they project to thrive under a new offensive system? Also, how does Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles‘ rookie seasons look like now that the Kings are done for the year? Let’s dive in and look at the numbers for the two no-longer-rookie big men.
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Usually, the Rookie Report considers a week to be Sunday to Saturday. However, this week is only looking at the last four games of the year against the Cavaliers, the Jazz, the Pelicans and the Blazers.
On to the final Rookie Report of the 2018-19 season!
Marvin Bagley
Weekly Stats: 16.8 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.3 stls, 0.5 blks, 41.5% FG, 33.3% 3PT, 60.0% FT
Final Season Stats: 14.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.5 stls, 1.0 blks, 50.4% FG, 31.3% 3PT, 69.1% FT
Advanced: 18.9 PER, .562 TS%, 15.5% TRB, 5.9% AST, 3.2% BLK, 24.2% USG, Ortg 111, DRtg 110
Marvin Bagley completed his rookie year with a 15-8-1 line, getting just over the .500 mark in shooting, on an okay 31.3% from the arc, and a disappointing (but nice) 69% from the stripe in his first season for the Sacramento Kings. However, he averaged an encouraging 18.5 and 8 in 26 minutes for the month of March and 17 and 10 in 28 minutes for the month of April. All that to say that Bagley had steady improvement and took many opposing defenses by surprise all season long. He also had many eye-popping signature plays that made home games a delight.
Under Luke Walton’s tutelage, Marvin Bagley could become something very special. It’s likely he will be the starting four in October, barring a surprise signing or trade. Also, at his introductory press conference, coach Walton emphasized three-point shooting as essential to his offense next season. As alluded to last week, it would be really cool to see if Bagley can take a DeMarcus Cousins-esque leap by adding long-range shooting as a regular weapon. It would help Sacramento’s floor-stretching ability immensely, and it could easily lead to Bagley putting up All-Star numbers very quickly.
His free-throw shooting will have to improve next year, especially with most of his shots (69%) coming at the rim. He will have to take better advantage of drawing fouls in the paint. Even pushing his shooting to 75% will be a major development and improvement.
All in all, however, even with weird coaching drama and a bench role, Bagley reached above-average efficiency, both in production and efficiency. It’s already been a pleasure for the Rookie Report to cover him these past few months. With a new coach who knows how to use him, next year could be another big year for MBIII.
Harry Giles
Weekly Stats: DNP
Final Season Stats: 7.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.5 stls, 0.4 blks, 50.3% FG, 0% 3PT, 63.7% FT
Advanced: 14.4 PER, .526 TS%, 14.0% TRB, 15.2% AST, 2.3% BLK, 23.2% USG, ORtg 102, DRtg 109
Having been shut down for the year back in late March, Giles did not dress this week. Nothing to see here.
It’s still difficult to project how Giles is going to thrive under the Walton regime. One presumes his minutes will increase next season; depending on how the big man rotation and free agency shakes out, he may even start. He also has the energy and motor to survive the high-tempo offense, as well as the defensive tools to earn Walton’s favor quickly.
However, he’s simply going to have to prove he can play at a high level for a sustained period. Taking a look at his game log, there’s nowhere you can point to (outside of maybe Games 48-50 at the end of February) where you can definitively say he looked like a major piece of the Kings’ future for more than a couple of games at a time. At his best, you can absolutely see the potential. At his worst, his energy and effort is still palpable, but it doesn’t convert into anything useful on the court.
Still, the possibility of a major leap is always lurking, and it’s impossible to tell how an individual player will respond to a new coaching staff and scheme. However, if we’re still talking about him like this next year, it’ll be time to wonder if we’ve already seen everything we’re going to see from him. Stay tuned.