Marvin Bagley III‘s latest injury makes his future with the Kings even cloudier, according to Jason Jones of The Athletic. Bagley is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured left hand on Monday. The career of the 2018 draft’s No. 2 overall pick has been sidetracked by injuries. He missed 20 games as a rookie with knee and back injuries and played just 13 games last season due to a broken right thumb and foot sprain. Bagley’s hand injury will hinder the Kings’ ability of evaluating how he fits long-term but his $11.3MM salary for next season may scare away some teams from dealing for the big man, Jones adds.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- LaMarcus Aldridge would be a better fit with the Suns than the Lakers or Trail Blazers, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic opines. The Spurs are sitting the veteran power forward while seeking to trade him or buy him out. Aldridge would benefit from the Suns’ superior ball movement, Rankin argues, as he will not only get more shot attempts with them but also quality looks from up top and in the lane.
- Cameron Johnson remained out of action on Monday due to the league’s health and safety protocols, Rankin tweets. The second-year Suns small forward hasn’t played since March 2. The 2019 lottery pick is averaging 10.4 PPG.
- The Lakers have a number of major decisions upcoming, beginning with their approach to the trade deadline and buyout market. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Danny Leroux explore those issues, as well as a look at free agency this summer and whether to re-sign Dennis Schröder.
Interesting story concept with three beat writers discussing Gordon to MIN or POR. But neither fan group in the comment section is realistic about what needs to be given up to get him. Such sentiment could affect Blazer GM Olney, who would prefer his big trade be fan-celebrated.
As a neutral I would like to see POR go for Aldridge anyway. Great story.
Despite the Magic Mess, Gordon may not move! I don’t see what’s horrible about Gordon’s 37% from 3 compared to Malik Beasley’s 41%, esp when Beasley does nothing more than that well and Denver found him not worth keeping.
This belongs with article 2 pages earlier. Not that it’s wrong. Aaron Gordon
If Bagley is made available. Someone should take a chance on him, especially a rebuilding team. I would consider giving up Toppin for him. He can play the 4-5 so he’s more versatile. I would take a chance on him. Teams who need a 4 like TWolves should look into this. Even the Celtics can make him fit, plenty upside.
I think the Bulls would be a good opportunity for Bagley. He has some of the skills they are short on, and he’d be another lefty shooter they can add to their lefty attack. 8))
If the Kings just want to offload him Bulls could send them Fatty Felicio. Otherwise the only salary match would be Markannen.
Might be possible to do Fox and Bagley for Markannen and either Satoransky or Thad Young, or maybe Markannen and Coby White (although Hield is a very similar player to White).
I suppose it depends on what traffic jams Kings want to resolve. If Halliburton is their future pg, Fox probably needs to go as Halliburton needs minutes for development. If not, then Halliburton is a trade chip, and also a good fit for the Bulls.
I am an unpopular proponent of getting rid of Markannen as it seems he is a talented shooter but a poor fit on this Bulls team. He is an RFA so the market will decide his value, but I think for the Bulls they would be better off if they could get a pg in return for him, and the two best that would fit in a trade are Lonzo Ball and either of the Sac pgs.
Bagley could give the Bulls some beef up front and allow Carter to come off the bench which is probably better for his size. Bulls other big need is a passing pg, who can get his own shot mid-range when needed.
Bagley was over drafted (not simply about Doncic), and whether one prioritizes measurables or production, you can’t ignore the other. Not at #2.
But he still profiled as a top 5-10 pick even in a good 2018 draft. So, if he’s made available at a discount this summer, he’d still be worth a long look by a lot of teams. Whatever he lacks athletically, he was still the #1 player in his HS class (one that included Ayton, JJJ, Bamba and a healthy MPJ) and the best FR in the country in his one year at Duke. It wasn’t that long ago.