What In The World Is Going On With Marvin Bagley?
There are plenty of points of incompetence for the Kings this season, but the handling of the Marvin Bagley situation might be the worst.
Frustrations are running high for Sacramento Kings fans these days as the franchise endures yet another embarrassing losing season, this time after a summer of hope and promise. While there are plenty of gripes to be had and fingers to be pointed, one of the biggest disappointments this season has been the lack of production from Marvin Bagley.
In a season in which the other four players selected in the top 5 of the 2018 NBA Draft have all made strides toward stardom, Bagley has yet to find any sort of footing. Luka Doncic and Trae Young were some of the leading vote-getters for the 2020 All-Star Game. Deandre Ayton is averaging a hair shy of 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. Jaren Jackson Jr. averages 17.8 points on a steady 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Marvin Bagley is averaging 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game; not terrible numbers, until get to the “games played” column.
Continuing the trend that started during his rookie season in which he missed 20 games, Bagley has appeared in just 13 contests this season. A fractured thumb was the culprit that kept him out 22 games early in the year, and a foot injury caused him to miss eight games, come back for four, and then miss three more (and counting).
The current injury is particularly peculiar, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Credible Source Chimes In
It was a drag when Bagley was originally diagnosed with a “mid-foot sprain” in late December, considering he had only played in eight games since returning from his first injury. He returned and seemed healthy, especially from a playing time standpoint. He played 30+ minutes in 3 of his next four games and performed relatively well.
But for the last four games, Bagley has been in street clothes on the bench due to a reaggravation of his “mild foot sprain”. Those street clothes have included a walking boot.
Not only is Bagley not playing, but the Kings are announcing his absence long before game time, sometimes a full day in advance. He is not a game-time decision, and he is not on the court during warm-ups testing out the healing of the mild foot sprain. Instead, his foot is immobilized.
Another red flag as a cause for concern was the opinion of Pete Youngman.
Youngman is the former Director of Sports Medicine for the Kings, who infamously “stepped down” from his position in the summer of 2018 after being on Sacramento’s medical staff since 1993.
Before Wednesday’s game against the Thunder, Youngman retweeted the injury report for the Kings, and attached was a get well message for Bagley:
https://twitter.com/_petethetrainer/status/1222720959842402304
After the ugly, disappointing loss, Youngman fired off a few thoughts about Bagley’s situation:
#1:
Can someone please ask what the exact injuries are that Marvin and Richaun have? "Residual soreness" from a previous sprain & "an injury to the right shoulder joint" aren't very transparent and fans want to know. We used to have to be so specific we'd have folks running to WebMD!
— Pete Youngman (@_petethetrainer) January 30, 2020
#2:
Last thought, you don't return 15 days after a foot sprain, practice (once or twice i hope), return to play 23, 30, 30 & 38 minutes and then develop "residual soreness" and miss 9 more days. It would happen in a practice or one of the first games upon return and resolve quickly
— Pete Youngman (@_petethetrainer) January 30, 2020
While Youngman is no longer a part of the franchise, there is few people’s word that Kings fans trust when it comes to injuries more than his. This is especially true given the injury problems that Sacramento has endured this season.
The franchise has been anything but transparent when it comes to injuries, from the Harry Giles mystery to the severity of Richaun Holmes‘ shoulder issue. And now the top-5 pick who was selected over Doncic and the rest is under some kind of odd injury cloud created by the current medical staff.
It is yet another blemish on a perennially-struggling franchise that was looking to finally turn a corner this season. While there have been a high number of questionable decisions made by the Kings during the Vivek Ranadive era, the letting go of Youngman and his staff could very well be the most egregious.
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Youngman has a modest 2,000 followers on Twitter, but that number could (and should) grow if he continues to provide his qualified opinions on Kings’ injuries.