Marvin Bagley III’s dad thinks he can be a Hall of Famer, but what will the Kings be?
Grant Napear and Doug Christie had an unexpected guest on their KHTK radio show Thursday when Kings forward Marvin Bagley III’s father called Sports 1140 following a segment with coach Luke Walton.
The day’s hottest topic was Bagley’s return to action after missing 22 games with a broken thumb. Fans want to know how well he fits, whether he should start, who he should play with and how well-prepared he is — in this phase of his development — with Walton emphasizing half-court execution and defense over last season’s run-and-gun game.
Even Bagley’s dad wants to know how this team is going to take shape now that Bagley is back and point guard De’Aaron Fox is planning to return in the coming days after missing five weeks with a severely sprained ankle.
“I just want to know, from your guys’ expertise and your experience, what identity do you see the team taking?” Marvin Bagley Jr. said on “The Grant Napear Show.” “Obviously, they’re an extremely talented team, and they could pretty much take on any identity they want. Is it going to be a 3-point shooting team or is it going to be a transition, speed team? Where do you see this team going and what identity would help them have the most success?”
It’s an interesting question. It’s also interesting that Bagley Jr. was the one posing it publicly on the team’s 50,000-watt flagship radio station, but let’s focus on the question itself: Who are these guys?
Are the Kings the team that ran opponents off the floor with an up-tempo system last season or the team that has registered the slowest pace in the league in its first 25 games under Walton? Are they the team that rolled off a series of dramatic victories over the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder? Or the team that blew a 16-point lead in a 103-101 loss to the lowly New York Knicks at home on Friday night?
The answer is all of the above.
The Kings (11-14) could go into Chase Center on Sunday and beat the struggling Golden State Warriors (5-22) by 30 points or they could come away lugging another embarrassing loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA. That’s how inconsistent and unpredictable they are right now, maybe more so as they bring Bagley back in a reserve role he isn’t entirely thrilled with.
Before Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma City, as he prepared to take the floor for his first game in seven weeks, Bagley said he understands Walton’s decision to bring him off the bench for now, but it’s “not something I’m trying to get used to.”
On Friday night, when asked what the second unit must do to gel after struggling against the Knicks, Bagley shook his head and said: “You’ve gotta talk to coach about that. That’s something you should ask coach.”
Walton now finds himself in a situation that is somewhat similar to what former coach Dave Joerger encountered last season when he brought Bagley off the bench as a rookie. Bagley, the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, has tremendous physical gifts and enormous upside, but the 20-year-old big man has only played 65 NBA games over two seasons.
He lacks experience, hasn’t established a consistent outside shot and isn’t the most willing passer with no assists in 72 minutes this season. The uneasy truth is Bagley is still developing defensively and represents a bit of an awkward fit at the offensive end.
The Kings thought they had this problem solved. They brought in Dewayne Dedmon on a three-year, $40 million deal to play center so Bagley could start at power forward, but Dedmon has fallen out of the rotation completely after his 3-point shooting abandoned him. Walton made adjustments, moving Richaun Holmes to center and starting Nemanja Bjelica in place of Bagley.
Walton emphasized execution and defense over tempo and pace, saying his team had to learn to walk before it could run again. The Kings won some games. They kept the Western Conference playoff race within reach despite some hardship. They started to establish an identity.
Now Bagley is back, and everyone wants to know how he fits.
“We’re going to keep playing the way we’ve been playing and as Marvin gets more and more comfortable with that, his role will continue to grow and get bigger,” Walton told KHTK. “And in my opinion, when it’s all said and done, 15 years from now, when Marvin’s looking back on this, this is one of those things where (we’ll say) what a great first couple years we had together going through this process.”
Bagley Jr. called in shortly after that interview ended. He said he sees his son as a future Hall of Famer and “we’re praying Marvin is a career-long Sacramento King.”
“The toughest thing right now is for Marvin to understand the process,” Bagley Jr. said. “This isn’t high school. It isn’t college, where you pretty much are that guy. Marvin has to develop physically as a player, but also mentally as a player where he understands — like last night (against the Thunder), Marvin had a stretch where he scored a couple baskets back-to-back, and in the college game he would get that over and over. They would continue to feed him, but in the NBA everybody can play. Everybody can do that. It’s just steps you have to take and it’s a process.”
Walton, who has earned the respect of his team and its fans, will certainly help Bagley with that process. Bagley’s dad can help, too. Both should preach patience and Bagley should listen, dedicating himself to all the little things that make good players great.
The Kings might remain pretty unpredictable while Walton sorts all of this out. There’s no telling what Bagley and this team will become, but one day we’ll see who they grow up to be.
Kings upcoming schedule
Dec. 15 at Golden State Warriors, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Indiana Pacers, 4 p.m.
Dec. 21 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Dec. 23 vs. Houston Rockets, 7 p.m.
