It’s Never Too Late: Marvin Bagley III Is Coming Alive At An Ideal Time
Dec 5, 2021, 3:45 PM | Updated: 4:10 pm
(USA Today)
(USA Today)
Sacramento’s young forward is taking advantage of his return to the rotation
Just a matter of weeks ago on the eve of opening night, it seemed as if the tumultuous marriage between Marvin Bagley III and the Sacramento Kings had reached its bitter end.
Bagley’s agency, Excel Sports, released a statement on October 19th claiming that then-Kings head coach Luke Walton had omitted the young forward from the opening night rotation.
In the eyes of many around the league, it appeared as likely as ever that Marvin Bagley III wouldn’t log another minute in a Kings uniform.
Through the first 13 games of the season, Bagley only appeared once—a 10 minute showing during an October 22nd loss to Utah. With forward Moe Harkless out due to injury, Walton had to fill minutes in the rotation, giving Bagley a brief stint of playing time before sitting the 22-year-old for the next three weeks.
Things took an even uglier turn for Bagley during a blowout loss to Phoenix on November 8th.
Sacramento was being blown by the Suns late in the game when, according to the report, Bagley refused to check in when summoned by Walton. Bagley was in the midst of an 11-game streak of DNP-CD’s at the time of the incident.
As the Kings struggled to find consistency during a 6-11 start to the season, general manager Monte McNair made the move to fire Walton on November 21st following an abysmal 1-9 stretch.
Seasoned coaching veteran Alvin Gentry was tabbed as the interim head coach, bringing the Walton-era to a close—one that was anything but perfect for several reasons, with Walton’s relationship between Bagley and Bagley’s camp near the top of the list.
Marvin Bagley Sr., Bagley’s namesake, infamously tweeted (on a few occasions) that the Kings need to trade his son, while also “liking” several tweets over the years referring to Walton in a negative light.
Injuries have ravaged Bagley’s start to his career, with knee, foot, thumb and hand injuries causing the forward to miss 108 of his first 226 games from 2018-2021. Walton started Bagley in 42 of 43 games last season, but the former Duke Blue Devil rarely was on the floor for crunch time and down the closing stretch in the late-game situations.
Injuries, poor defensive play, social media drama and of course, the constant reminder of who he was drafted ahead of (rhymes with ‘Pooka Boncic’) had seemingly buried Bagley in the eyes of many Kings supporters.
Following the incident against Phoenix, fans were seen on social media demanding that Bagley be traded, released or suspended.
To many, Marvin Bagley III was written off.
“@SacramentoKings need to suspend Marvin Bagley WITHOUT PAY. Embarrassing!!”
“TRADE MB3 OFF OF THIS TEAM NOW.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less from a player that only cares about himself.”
Instead of cutting, trading or continuing to bench Bagley, Sacramento has decided to do something that probably should have been done at the beginning of the season:
Play Marvin Bagley III consistently.
When it comes down to it, Marvin Bagley III is one of the most talented basketball players on this current Kings roster. Raw talent, yes. But at age 22, there is much to be determined for Bagley and his career in this league.
Bagley’s ability to score around the rim and his ability on the boards have looked as impressive as ever in his return to the rotation. Since Gentry took over as head coach, Bagley is averaging 8.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 66-percent from the field and 37-percent from three-point range.
Over five games and playing in a limited 20.8 minutes per showing, Bagley is making his mark on both sides of the ball. In a triple-overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bagley did a strong job of challenging LeBron James down the stretch as the Kings were able to steal a win from the 2020 NBA Champs.
Over 34 minutes, Bagley scored 13 points on a perfect five-of-five shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds and a career-high four assists.
Following a two-game absence due to a non-COVID illness, Bagley returned to the floor on Saturday and came up huge during a close win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Bagley logged his first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points (four-of-six from the field) and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds over just 19 minutes. Gentry told reporters after the game that Bagley was still feeling the after effects of his illness, but that he wanted to play and pushed through to help his team get the win.
Following his strong showing, Bagley spoke to the media and had some of his best soundbites as a King when sharing his thoughts on his place in the rotation:
“I’m just playing basketball. I’m comfortable out there. Just playing the game, just having fun, that’s my main thing ever since I’ve started playing, the love and the joy, not letting things or people take that joy from me. Just to be out there playing again, smiling, having fun, helping and cheering my teammates on, that’s what it’s all about for me,” Bagley said on Saturday.
“I’m just going to do whatever I can to help the team win. That’s what I’m big on, that’s my mindset, is whether it’s starting, coming off of the bench, no matter how many minutes I’m playing, my biggest thing is to be ready when my number is called and to go out there and compete at a high level. That’s all that I can control and what I will continue to control moving forward.”
Not only is Bagley playing with efficiency, consistency and effort, he is saying the right things and acting as professional as we have seen since he was drafted in 2018. On the floor, Bagley is not forcing his offense like we have seen in previous years.
This is a different version of Bagley, one that is more selective on offense, more active on defense and much more efficient from
When Bagley is healthy, he produces. Staying on the floor has been the biggest issue thus far in his career, not his ability on the court.
Sacramento is 4-1 this season when Bagley plays at least 17 minutes, something that we very well could see more of as the season goes on.
Can the marriage between the Kings and Bagley be salvaged? That’s where things get a bit murky.
Bagley will enter restricted free agency at the end of the season, and his qualifying offer will be reduced from $14.8 million to $7.2 million if he does not meet “starter criteria.” To meet the criteria, a player must start at least 41 games or play at least 2,000 minutes in the previous season. Bagley has never played more than 1,600 minutes in a season.
If Bagley continues to play well, his stock will also rise as opposing teams monitor the big man’s play.
Sacramento could opt to move Bagley at or near the trade deadline in February, or they could continue to roll him out with this team and see if a new narrative can be formed.
How great of a story would that be?
Marvin Bagley III providing the Kings with a huge boost as they chase their first playoff birth in over 15 years. Bagley finds success in Sacramento and silences naysayers in convincing fashion.
Hey, crazier things have happened in sports history.
It’s been a rough three-plus years for Bagley and the Kings. No other way to slice it.
While the relationship between the player and organization has been far from perfect, there is one antidote that can salvage most of–if not all–relationship issues in sports:
Winning.
Winning brings players, coaches and front offices together. Winning creates, forms and mends legacies. Winning can create a new story–or add a happy ending to a story that has been nightmarish for years.
So far underneath the leadership of Alvin Gentry, Marvin Bagley III has answered the bell. A player-coach relationship with reciprocated respect and trust in each other has been something that Bagley has not experienced in his four NBA seasons.
“We plan very well, you can see everyone out there is having fun. Everyone is on the bench jumping up and down. Playing on the court you can feel it. We have a great team here, we work very hard every day in practice. Coach Gentry is doing a great job of coaching us the right way,” Bagley said of how the team is operating under Gentry. “It’s been fun playing for him.”
Could Gentry be the head coach to get tap into Bagley’s full potential?
We’re going to find out as the Kings look to insert themselves in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference. With plenty of basketball left to be played, the Kings have won four of six and sit just two games back of the fifth seed in the West.
If the Kings succeed, Bagley plays well and Gentry exceeds expectations as head coach, who knows? Maybe Bagley, his camp and the Kings can mend the fence together. If not, Bagley will get his chance elsewhere, whether it be by trade or free agency.
Sacramento should leave no stone—or young talent—unturned.
The book is open on the 2021-22 Sacramento Kings–and it’s wide open on Marvin Bagley III.
