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We don't remember everything we said around the time of the 2018 NBA Draft but we do remember advising you that when it came to Luka Doncic not to judge him purely on athleticism. We didn’t know he would be as good as he has been but athleticism, as vital as it is, is only one part of being a great basketball player.
Regardless of that, we agreed with Sacramento’s Vlade Divac and thought Duke’s Marvin Bagley would have been the best pick at #2.
Divac stands by his pick of Bagley but the Kings braintrust has opted to let him go and that decision, no doubt, was part of it.
Divac said this about the controversy:
“That was my decision,” Divac told the Sacramento Bee. “I still believe Marvin has big upside. But I needed more time to prove it. I’m sure Marvin is going to prove everybody wrong. But in this league, you need to produce right now. People don’t have patience but I’m OK with that.”
Due to injuries, Bagley has only played 75 games in his first two seasons. He played 62 last year and just 13 this season and hasn’t been a full-time starter yet.
Doncic ended up going third to the Atlanta Hawks who then also underestimated him, trading him to Dallas for Trae Young who has been good, but not as good as Doncic.
And you’d have to be stupid to write Bagley off. He’s highly talented and has shown he can play at a high level. We hope next season he’s fully healthy and gets to really play his game.