‘Frustrated’: Marvin Bagley III’s latest foot injury adds to Kings’ NBA bubble woes
The Kings suffered yet another blow to their playoff hopes Sunday when Marvin Bagley III went down with another foot injury, the latest setback for a player who has been plagued by injuries over his first two seasons in the NBA.
The Kings announced they were awaiting results of an MRI to determine the severity of an injury to Bagley’s right foot. Kings coach Luke Walton said the injury happened when Bagley jumped for an offensive rebound and landed on another player’s foot during Sunday’s practice. The Kings said they are awaiting further evaluation of Bagley’s MRI and will share more information when those results are available.
“That’s all we have,” Walton said. “I’m not a doctor. When we get information back from the doctors, we’ll pass it along and share it with others.”
Walton said he is encouraging Bagley to remain positive despite the latest setback. Bagley has been limited to 13 games this season due to a broken thumb and an injury to his other foot, but he impressed in workouts inside the NBA bubble after working hard to add size and strength during the coronavirus shutdown.
“He was a little frustrated obviously,” Walton said. “He was another guy that was having a good camp and he looked great. He was flying up and down the court. Whether it’s him or anybody, when you put in the kind of time to make it at this level and you really want to show what you can do, injuries can be a very frustrating part of the game. But he knows, and we talked about, no matter what the result is, no matter what comes of this, mentally, stay strong and keep working. He’s going to have a very successful career when it’s all said and done.”
Kings shorthanded for scrimmage
Bagley’s status is in doubt as the Kings prepare to scrimmage the Miami Heat on Wednesday at Walt Disney World Resort outside Orlando, and he’s not alone missing a game that will be televised by NBC Sports California.
Point guard De’Aaron Fox will not play due to an ankle injury. Forward Harrison Barnes is still in Sacramento hoping to clear COVID-19 protocols. Center Alex Len has joined the team in practice after recovering from COVID-19, but he needs more strength and conditioning work before he is ready to suit up. Walton hopes center Richaun Holmes will be able to rejoin the team Tuesday following a mandatory 10-day quarantine for breaking bubble protocol, but Holmes will be held out of Wednesday’s scrimmage as well.
Walton said he used Harry Giles III and Nemanja Bjelica at center during Monday’s practice. Corey Brewer, at 6-foot-9, 196-pound wing, is filling in at power forward.
“We’re going to pretty small right now,” Walton said. “…We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’re going to see some funky lineups out there Wednesday that we haven’t seen all year. When Harry’s not on the floor, we’re going to be small.”
Walton, still looking for silver linings, said Giles has been one of the team’s best players in camp and Bjelica offers some intriguing possibilities at the center spot due to his perimeter shooting ability.
“Belly did a great job at it,” Walton said. “He gives us a different dimension with how he spaces the floor. So for now that’s what it is. It’s Harry and Belly. We have Alex back, but he’s still got a lot of work to do before he’s ready to play games.”
Walton said Jabari Parker could get minutes at power forward.
Fox is expected to be reevaluated later this week.
The Kings have just 10 days to prepare for the first of eight seeding games in Orlando, beginning July 31 against the San Antonio Spurs.
‘Injury after injury’
Bagley has appeared in only 75 games over two seasons since the Kings selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft following his freshman year at Duke.
Bagley missed 22 games after breaking his thumb in the season opener against the Phoenix Suns in October. He missed 29 of the last 33 games with a left midfoot sprain.
Parker, another former No. 2 pick who has missed 191 games over six NBA seasons, said “injuries are a part of life” and “it’s normal.”
“I’m just trying to keep him on my mind and keep him in my prayers, and just try to be a good friend for him,” Parker said.
Len said it’s important for teammates to support Bagley as he recovers from the latest injury.
“That’s unfortunate,” Len said. “He had a rough season, injury after injury. We’re going to support him as much as we can. He’s a big part of this team, so we’re definitely going to miss him.”
Bagley said he added 10 pounds of muscle during the NBA hiatus. Teammates said he was one of the standouts over the first few days of training camp in Orlando.
Walton said he spoke to Bagley after he went down with the injury Sunday.
“It was mainly just to check in and make sure that he knows that we’re behind him and we’ve got to be positive in how we attack this,” Walton said. “That was kind of the general theme of it. Marvin’s had to go through injuries before and he’s handled them great, so hopefully it’s not too bad, but we’ll hear back and find that out, and the important thing is, no matter what the news is, that we attack it together and we’re positive about what we’re trying to build with him and with the group.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
