Sacramento Kings: After drafting Marvin Bagely, big questions remain
By Zack Kobler
Despite drafting Marvin Bagley with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, big roster questions remain for the Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are trying to push themselves forward into a brand new era of basketball.
Having missed the playoffs for the past 12 seasons, the Kings had a golden opportunity on their hands. After being awarded the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, Sacramento was going to have the chance to take one of the top tier prospects in this draft.
And with the No. 2 overall selection, the Kings selected Duke power forward Marvin Bagley III; a prospect the Kings front office believes will catapult them into contention, or at the very least NBA relevance, in the not too distant future.
However, there is a small problem. The Kings frontcourt is a literal log jam. Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufous, Harry Giles and now Bagley are all on the roster.
Anyone can assume that the plan will be to shop around the former picks of Cauley-Stein and Labissiere. Although both players had flashes of fantastic play, it simply was not enough.
Especially with them only showing up against below average opponents. According to Marc J. Spears, the Kings have a plan involving Bagley and Giles for their frontcourt:
Assuming @DeandreAyton goes #1 to the Suns, sources say the excited Kings have already decided on who they will pick with the second selection and are confident they are going to add a franchise altering prospect.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 21, 2018
Giles losing his entire season due to precautions surrounding his knee gave Kings fans no idea of his true output as a player. Meanwhile, Vlade Divac, Kings General Manager, is rather high on Giles. This gives hope to what kind of team this can be with big men on the floor that are able to run with De’Aaron Fox.
Marvin Bagley III
Marvin Bagley is not Luka Doncic; I know every Kings fan wishes that Doncic was the second pick. But heres the thing about Bagley that makes more sense when you really think about it; his ability to rebound, get his own shot and able to run the floor is the most prominent part of the big man’s game.
The only question that comes apart of his game comes along with the defensive end of the court. He is virtually lost on defense, which is concerning due to the lackluster effort that the Kings put forth. Constant pointing of the fingers with open men on the wing taking 3-pointers or simple drives to the basket with no problem became a consistent theme for Sacramento. Adding Bagley may not help in this regard whatsoever.
He will more than likely extend his range to the 3-point line making him more than deadly for the offense. If the man can look that good at the draft, in his suit while also dropping a mixtape the night before, it adds to his likability.
So thats it?
The Sacramento Kings did make a selection of Gary Trent Jr. out of Duke in the second round, but was immediately traded. Trent Jr. is now a member of the Portland Trail Blazers and in return the Kings received two second round picks. Those picks are what made the assumption of trades of the other big men even surface. Six players that belong to the frontcourt makes it nearly impossible to keep everyone happy even if some of the players are old as dirt.
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Waiting for the summer league is all we can do from here or maybe watch NBATV for some type of a replay. The Kings are still a few years out from real contention, but this year its going to be different in Sacramento.