Vlade Divac’s tenure with the Sacramento Kings wasn’t the most desired, as he made some questionable decisions (to say the least) during his years at the front office of the franchise. Moreover, the biggest one came in 2018 when he decided to draft Marvin Bagley over Luka Doncic with the second overall pick in the draft.
As we all know now, the Phoenix Suns drafted Deandre Ayton with the first overall pick of the night; the Kings had the option to go for Doncic or any other player but they decided to select Bagley out of Duke University. Following the draft, Divac talked with reporters about his decisions, making bold claims about what he saw in Bagley that didn’t see in Doncic.
“Better fit, better player. It was an easy choice,” he said when asked about his decision to go for Bagley instead of the Slovenian player.
Flash forward, that was a huge mistake for the Kings. Doncic has taken the league by storm, leading his Dallas Mavericks to the postseason, becoming one of the best players in the league at 21 and one of the future faces of the NBA. Doncic has made a big impact on the game and he’s only playing his second year in the league.
As for Bagley, he has struggled with injuries and hasn’t played at the level the Kings would expect from him. A couple of months ago, before he was relieved of his duties, Divac defended his selection, claiming he still believed Bagley was the better option for the Kings.
“That was my decision. I still believe Marvin has big upside. But I needed more time to prove it. I’m sure Marvin is going to prove everybody wrong.”
"That was my decision. I still believe Marvin has big upside. But I needed more time to prove it. I'm sure Marvin is going to prove everybody wrong.
– Vlade Divac on passing on Luka Doncic in the draft
(The Sacramento Bee) pic.twitter.com/aBJNEbGWzK
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 16, 2020
Well, that hasn’t been the case so far. Luka is seen as the biggest favorite to win the MVP award next season while Bagley is stuck in a wandering team like the Kings.
