Report: Kings To Draft Marvin Bagley III

By: Kyle Madson

It sounds like the Kings have decided on who they’re selecting with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Sacramento plans on selecting Duke forward Marvin Bagley according to KHTK’s Carmichael Dave. A Kings source told him Bagley was always the Kings’ choice at the No. 2 spot, and it sounds like they would’ve taken him even if Arizona’s DeAndre Ayton had fallen past Phoenix at the No. 1 slot.

Dave took to Twitter to share some interesting notes from his source, including the reasoning behind the Bagley choice.

Spoke to a source close to the Kings, I have some notes. All comments in this thread are their thoughts, not mine:

Bagley has always been our #1. You want tactically to keep things a bit smoky, so we’ve been reserved.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) June 21, 2018

Team source continues:

We were waiting on Phoenix to tell us who they were picking. Once they told us Ayton, we stopped being coy. Bagley would’ve been our guy had we had the #1 pick.

He was #1 on our board overall.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) June 21, 2018

This makes it sound like the Kings never really considered Luka Doncic, and that most of their interest in him served as a smoke screen. It stands to reason that Sacramento had at least a passing interest in the EuroLeague star considering they made multiple jaunts across the Atlantic to scout and meet with him.

With the finish to our year, we assumed 7, and he was out of our reach. But we felt he was the best player all year. You hope to get lucky,
and we did.

We thought there were 4 number 1s. Ayton, Porter, Bagley, Doncic

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) June 21, 2018

There aren’t many surprises here. Ayton was the consensus No. 1 player in the draft, and the Kings were tied to the other three throughout the pre-draft process. Bagley was their 1A of a strong top four.

Team source on Bagley:

We brought him here, he’s as quick laterally as Frank. Jumps higher than Willie and Giles.

Not a single game we left (that we scouted Bagley), we didn’t think he wasn’t incredible.

Basketball IQ, coachability, he checked every box.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) June 21, 2018

More from team source:

He fits in with our goal of positionless basketball. He’s a big, he rebounds, he can pass, he’s not boxed into one spot.

It will be an attacking lineup. Not minimizing shooting, but the pressure on opposing defense with our attack will be fun to watch.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) June 21, 2018

This is pretty remarkable if it’s true. If Bagley is as quick as Frank Mason with the leaping ability of Willie Cauley-Stein, they could legitimately have a player that guards all five positions. Even if Bagley can hold his own against ball handlers on the perimeter, any concerns about his defense will very quickly be dispelled.

Having a big that can stretch the floor offensively and switch on defense is essential in today’s NBA. All the teams that trending up have plug-and-play guys that aren’t necessarily confined to one position.

The best news for Kings fans — they won’t have to wait long to see Bagley in purple and black. He’ll play for the Kings during Summer League in Sacramento starting July 2.

Finally, source says Marvin Bagley will be participating in Summer League beginning in Sacramento.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) June 21, 2018

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