Vlade Divac stepped down as the Sacramento Kings GM on Friday after several years trying to improve the team. He had the best intentions but you don’t become a competitive team and win championships with that, and Divac made some decisions that even today are hunting him. Back in 2018, he selected Marvin Bagley with the 2nd overall pick in the NBA draft, a decision that hasn’t paid off for the Kings yet.
Divac has been questioned for this pick over and over, and he’s defended his decision over and over. He didn’t draft Luka Doncic, who is now carrying the Dallas Mavericks to the playoffs when nobody expected anything from them before the beginning of the season. Vlade is still convinced that he made the right decision and he wouldn’t change it if he had the chance. Talking with Marcos Breton of The Sacramento Bee, the former big man explained what went through his mind at the time of picking Bagley.
“That was my decision,” Divac told Breton. “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. But in this league, you need to produce right now. People don’t have patience, but I’m OK with that.”
That decision wasn’t welcome even inside the organization since it caused a rift between Divac and team owner Vivek Ranadivé. Doncic and the Kings have played several times since 2018 and every time they clashed, people reminded Vlade what he missed when he overlooked Doncic.
Still, he is 100% sure he made the right decision and Marvin Bagley will become a superstar sooner than later. Doncic won the ROY award last season and this one is the biggest favorite to win the Most Improved Player award. That kid only gets better and the Dallas Mavericks will always be thankful for Vlade Divac’s decision of passing on the Slovenian guard.
