Ex-Kings GM Vlade Divac: ‘Time will inform’ if drafting Marvin Bagley over Luka Dončić was proper resolution
The Sacramento Kings had been confronted with a selection within the 2018 NBA Draft: choose Duke large man Marvin Bagley or European guard Luka Dončić?
As most Kings followers are very conscious, the staff selected Bagley, then watched Dončić turn out to be one of many premier gamers within the NBA, with 5 straight All-NBA first-team nods after his rookie season. Bagley, in the meantime, has turn out to be a considerably common heart, and is now not on the Kings.
It will seem the Kings made a franchise-altering mistake in that draft, however do not inform that to former basic supervisor Vlade Divac, the person accountable for the choice. He apparently thinks the jury remains to be out.
In an interview with Croatian outlet Index.hr, Divac was requested to clarify passing over Dončić. Like he did proper after the draft, Divac pointed to the presence of Kings guard De’Aaron Fox as the explanation why Bagley was the higher selection, and implied Fox may nonetheless vindicate the choice if he has a greater profession than Dončić.
From Index, interpreted by means of Google Translate:
“I had De’Aaron Fox at that place, whom I drafted a yr earlier. At that second, I assumed that Fox was a participant who may turn out to be a franchise participant within the subsequent interval. Time will inform if I used to be fallacious. As issues stand now, it appears to be like like I’m, however I think about little Fox that he may have a greater profession.”
Since that draft, Dončić and the Mavericks have reached the playoffs 4 instances, with an NBA Finals look final season. Fox and the Kings have reached the playoffs as soon as, in 2023, shedding within the first spherical to the Golden State Warriors.
Dončić definitely appears to suppose Divac ought to have taken him.
The logic that Dončić and Fox had been mutually unique as franchise stars can be exhausting to swallow contemplating that the Mavericks reached the Finals with Dončić and level guard Kyrie Irving as their main scorers.
Index pressed Divac on that reality and bought the argument that Irving and Fox are several types of scorers, and an try and shift among the questioning to the Phoenix Suns:
“Irving is a traditional scorer, as is Luka. Fox shouldn’t be, he’s a participant who wants the ball, identical to Luka wants it. I may solely take Luka, however then I must commerce Fox. Apparently, Phoenix additionally skipped Luka, after which their coach was Igor Kokoškov, who was his coach in Slovenia.”
There’s a lot to unpack there. For starters, to current Irving as a participant who does not at all times want the ball in his palms, in contrast to Fox, is curious provided that one of many knocks on Irving all through his profession is that he truly does want the ball as a score-first level guard.
Divac additionally logically contradicts himself by presenting Irving as a traditional scorer, like Dončić, then trying to conversely paint Fox as a participant who wants the ball, like Dončić. Perhaps there was a translation error right here, however most NBA followers would describe traditional scorers as gamers who want the ball of their palms.
That is all constructed on the premise {that a} staff with Dončić and Fox simply would not work, which appears foolish. Perhaps they must sacrifice a few of what makes them nice to work collectively, however Dončić transformed 37.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers final yr whereas Fox shot 39.1%. Having to handle each these multi-dimensional threats appears like a much bigger challenge for the protection than the offense.
Divac did reward Dončić as a participant “heading in the right direction” to win MVP, and he additionally denied a longstanding rumor that he handed over the Slovenian resulting from a battle together with his father Sasa.
That is all prior to now, although, even when the Kings nonetheless must reckon what many consider to be a missed alternative on a Corridor of Fame expertise. Divac stepped down as Kings GM in 2020 and was changed with Monte McNair.
