Was Kings coach Dave Joerger behind push for Zach LaVine? Will Bagley & Giles start?

Some intriguing questions were asked, answered and avoided Sunday afternoon as the Kings opened a four-game home stand against the Chicago Bulls.

Do the Kings still consider themselves playoff contenders despite the air of resignation around the team right now? Will their position in the playoff race influence the decision to start rookie big men Marvin Bagley III or Harry Giles III in the final weeks of the regular season? And was coach Dave Joerger behind the push to acquire Bulls guard Zach LaVine, a player the Kings tried to lure away from Chicago last summer?

These were all topics of discussion following a 129-102 victory over the Bulls. The question about Bagley and Giles could continue to steer the conversation from this point forward, starting tonight when the Kings (34-35) play host to the Brooklyn Nets (36-36) at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings have exceeded all expectations — and now they’ve surpassed their highest win total since the 2007-08 season — but this is a team that had lost nine of 12 before beating the Bulls to snap a three-game losing streak. They were still six games behind the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers for the seventh and eight spots in the Western Conference with just 13 games remaining.

Joerger and some of the players acknowledged that physical and mental fatigue have taken a toll in recent weeks. Guard Bogdan Bogdanovic admitted the playoff race is “getting away from us right now.” The Kings were just one game behind the Clippers going into the All-Star break, but they faded fast while losing eight of 11 during a difficult portion of their schedule coming out of the break.

“I think you try to finish strong as much as possible and hang in there mentally,” Joerger said. “I think we’re fatigued mentally. We’ve got a lot of young bodies, we’ve got a lot of young minds, and then trying to force yourself to — you don’t want to ‘get through’ anything. You want to thrive and be as positive and successful as possible.”

Joerger offered a gushing response when asked about LaVine, who is averaging 23.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for Chicago. LaVine signed a four-year, $78-million offer sheet with the Kings last summer, but the Bulls matched the offer to retain his rights. You walked away wondering if Joerger had lobbied his front office to make a four-year, $78-million offer to LaVine last summer before the Bulls matched the offer to retain his rights.

“I’m a huge Zach LaVine fan. I think you probably know that,” Joerger said. “He can score in so many ways. He’s a worker. He’s a gym rat. He loves to play. ... He’s definitely a focal point for that organization going forward and I think his shoulders are broad enough to carry that. He knows he has some areas he needs to improve in his game, and I think that self-recognition and self-awareness is positive. He’s a really good dude, so I think his future is very bright.”

Joerger was then asked if the thought of LaVine in the Kings’ run-and-gun offense ever crosses his mind, if he ever wonders “what if?”

Joerger chuckled.

“No,” he said. “No, it has not actually.”

LaVine scored 18 points in the loss to the Kings, but he was held to 7-of-18 shooting. Joerger credited Kings guard Buddy Hield, saying he “probably had his best defensive night of the season.”

“Zach Lavine’s a tough cover and (Hield) did a terrific job on him,” Joerger said.

The big question that went unanswered was whether Bagley and Giles might get an opportunity to start together before the season ends. Both are receiving significant minutes and playing key roles off the bench, but fans will continue to clamor for more after seeing Bagley and Giles combine for 37 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots with only one turnover against the Bulls.

Bagley posted team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes for the Kings, who led by as many as 37. He set the tone in the opening period, blocking a shot by Bulls center Robin Lopez late in the first quarter, corralling the loose ball and running the length of the floor for a layup at the other end.

Giles, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in 21 minutes, had a similar sequence in the second quarter. Giles blocked a shot by Lopez, ran the floor in transition and threw down a putback dunk on a missed layup by point guard De’Aaron Fox.

“I feed off all my teammates, but Marv just brings so much energy, so it’s not hard to feed off him,” Giles said.

Bagley agreed.

“It’s great playing with Harry,” he said. “...We’re just playing off of each other and having fun.”

Joerger was tactful in his response when asked before Sunday’s game if the team’s position in the playoff race would influence lineup decisions and whether there were enough games left for Bagley and Giles to get significant minutes together against frontline starters.

His answer to the first question was simple: “Not really.”

His answer to the second question was not as direct.

“I’m just focused on today’s game and doing the best we can,” Joerger said. “And what happens tomorrow or next week will be what it will be.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2019 at 12:51 AM.