Are the Kings ready to move away from Marvin Bagley?
According to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, general manager Monte McNair already has started shopping the former No. 2 overall NBA draft pick.
"The Sacramento Kings have made the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA draft available for a trade, with the Kings recently being turned down by the Detroit Pistons, having offered Bagley III for promising rookie Saddiq Bey, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Haynes wrote.
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"It is no secret within league circles that both sides -- Kings and Bagley III -- are keen on discovering a corridor toward separation," Haynes added. "It’s been a tumultuous tenure for the often-injured forward, who is currently sidelined with a fractured left hand.”
Bagley started 37 of the Kings’ first 39 games this season before breaking his left hand against the Charlotte Hornets on March 15. The injury did not require surgery, but he is expected to miss another three weeks at a minimum with the injury.
It has been a bumpy ride for Bagley in Sacramento. Injuries cost him 20 games his rookie season, 59 out of 72 in Year 2 and the current injury will put him out 15 games or more.
When healthy, Bagley has shown promise, but the fits and starts to his career have slowed his overall development.
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In this third NBA season, Bagley is averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game. He’s shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from long range while showing signs of improvement on the defensive end.
Unfortunately for Bagley, he has been compared to who he isn’t instead of who he is during his time with the Kings. Bagley was taken one pick before All-Stars Luka Doncic and Trae Young. The injuries haven’t helped his cause.
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In addition to these issues, Bagley’s father has been a thorn in the side of the Kings’ franchise. Boisterous on social media, Marvin Bagley II has gone as far as to demand his son be traded in the middle of a game this season when he wasn’t put in the game in the fourth quarter.
To complicate matters for the Kings, Bagley is eligible for an extension this summer and he is set to earn $11.3 million next season with a $14.8 million qualifying offer for the 2022-23 season.
Bey is having a strong rookie season for the Pistons, averaging 10.5 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range. The Kings passed on the versatile wing in the 2020 NBA Draft, selecting Tyrese Haliburton instead.
An older prospect coming into the draft, Bey is less than a month younger than Bagley.
The fact that Bagley is being shopped isn’t a huge surprise. McNair didn’t draft Bagley, and while he is an asset, nothing has worked out as planned for the 22-year-old big. It’s very possible that a change is in order for both sides, but the Kings have to get value in return.