A Royal Pain
Fansided

Vlade Divac has a delusional take about the 2018 NBA Draft

By Mat Issa

April 17, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings former player Vlade Divac sits courtside during the first quarter in game two of the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
April 17, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings former player Vlade Divac sits courtside during the first quarter in game two of the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Vlade Divac is a Sacramento Kings legend. Not only was the team's starting center during their most successful stretch of basketball since moving to Sacramento, but he is also one of the best players in franchise history.

Sactown Sports recently had a panel of voters (myself included) deliberate over who the top 40 players in Kings' history are. Divac finished sixth on this list (I also had him sixth on my ballot). All told, Divac has done a lot for us, and we should have the utmost respect for him as a player.

Unfortunately, Divac's stint as the general manager of the team was not nearly as prosperous. From 2015 to 2020, Divac was head of the controls in the Kings' front office, and his time was filled with missteps.

Chief among them, though, was his decision to select Marvin Bagley III with the second overall pick over Luka Doncic (who went right after him).

Vlade Divac doesn't think he messed up the 2018 NBA Draft

Obviously, Divac's decision to take Bagley over Doncic was an abomination of epic proportions. Actually, we shouldn't say 'obviously' because Divac still doesn't think the pick should be considered a mistake yet.

“At that position, I already had De’Aaron Fox, whom I had drafted a year earlier,” Divac said. “At the time, I believed Fox was a player who could become a franchise star in the coming years.” 

“Time will tell if I was wrong,” Divac added. “As things stand now, it seems I was, but I still have faith in Fox having a great career.”

Does Vlade Divac have a point?

In theory, I get what Divac is saying. Both Doncic and De'Aaron Fox are on-ball creators who don't offer much by way of spacing. Because of the redundancy in their skill sets, it wouldn't make sense to draft Doncic if you believed Fox was your guy.

But even if you concede that point to Divac, that still doesn't excuse the fact that Bagley was selected over Jaren Jackson Jr. (fourth overall pick). Not only has Jackson had a much better career than Bagley, but he's also evolved to a Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) caliber player, winning the award in 2022-23. The Kings (a team that hasn't had a top ten defense in two decades) could certainly use a big man like that.

Also, Doncic has a chance of going down as one of the best offensive players ever. As much as we love Fox and as much as he means to this franchise, it is always a failure when you miss out on the opportunity to add a generational talent to your organization.

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