The Sacramento Kings selected Marvin Bagley III as the second overall pick in this year’s draft, and as of late he’s played up to expectations. It’s only a matter of time before he’ll be in the starting lineup.
The Sacramento Kings Must Start Marvin Bagley III
There is a debate whether the Sacramento Kings made the correct decision in drafting Marvin Bagley III with the second overall pick. Some question the potential of pairing rookie sensation Luka Doncic alongside developing star De’Aaron Fox.
We may never know, but we have seen Bagley slowly coming into his own for Sacramento. Though not a starter yet, Bagley has increased his playing time and has been filling the stat sheet. The timing could not be more perfect, as Sacramento is within a fighting chance of the playoffs.
Ending their playoff drought would be an enormous boost for a franchise already ahead of schedule. But to achieve just that Sacramento needs to go all-in for the postseason. Bagley as a part of the starting five gives the Kings their best chance.
Replacing Willie Cauley-Stein
In this situation, let’s take the case of Willie Cauley-Stein finding himself on the bench. Cauley-Stein currently plays the role of center for Sacramento.
In reality, the biggest loss here would be size, as Willie is much more of a true center. Bagley is much more suited at the four spot and if this hypothetical scenario did take place chances are Bagley would start at power forward. The loss of size would be clearly felt against some of the West’s top-tier centers.
Cauley-Stein has been known to lack rebounding prowess, which Bagley could immediately bring as a starter. Though he’s not taller, Bagley does hustle for more rebounds. Also important is the defensive impact that could be at play. Bagley is more athletic and averages one block per game compared to Cauley-Stein’s 0.7
Replacing Nemanja Bjelica
If Bagley were to catapult into the starting lineup, most likely it would come at the expense of Nemanja Bjelica’s starting role. Bjelica currently serves in the power forward role and his vacancy would be the best position for Bagley to fill.
Aside from Buddy Hield, Bjelica is the Kings’ most reliable outside scoring threat from beyond the arc. As such, his stretch-four skillset will be sorely missed if Bagley gets the starting nod. Bjelica is right behind Hield shooting close to 42 percent from deep.
Though starting off the season hot, Bjelica has actually cooled down a bit from behind the arc midway into the season. As such, the Kings need Bagley, who is better defensively in comparison, and the swap could not occur at a better time with the former cooling off from the three-point line.
The De’Aaron Fox Blueprint
A big reason why it makes sense to start Bagley eventually is that we’ve already seen the same process play out perfectly in their developing star point guard, De’Aaron Fox. Last season, Fox was backup to George Hill before eventually taking the starting duties midway through the season.
As a result, Fox was able to encounter and overcome some of the typical rookie growing pains that perhaps he should have already faced. Nonetheless, De’Aaron was able to take his learning experience and work on his game in the summer. It’s safe to say that we’re seeing the hard work pay off this season.
If Bagley can notch a starting role sooner rather than later, it could help boost their playoff chances. Perhaps even better, it’ll give him plenty of time to work out any growing pains, a beneficial impact that could carry into his sophomore season. Bagley is a vital group of the young core, and sooner rather than later he’ll be worth a starting role to show exactly why the Kings picked him second overall.
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