Kings coach Luke Walton refused to comment on speculation that Marvin Bagley III refused to check into Monday’s game against the Suns, tweets Sean Cunningham of KXTV in Sacramento. Cunningham posted a video clip of Bagley walking away from coaches and shaking his head during a timeout. Cunningham was told by multiple sources that Bagley turned down Walton when he was told to enter the game.
“Anything that happens within our group, that’s between our group,” Walton responded when reporters asked him about the incident. “So the thing that matters is people know what’s expected and we continue to move forward tonight” (Twitter link from Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee).
Bagley has repeatedly expressed frustration about his situation with the Kings, as have his agent and his father. He has only played once in the team’s first 11 games.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Anthony Davis is determined to prove that he can lead the Lakers with LeBron James sidelined, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Davis overcame a lingering stomach illness Monday night to push L.A. to an overtime victory against the Hornets. “(Carmelo Anthony) is in my ear a lot about leading the team and just controlling the team, especially with (James) out,” Davis said. “We don’t have all our guys yet, so guys are playing a lot of minutes now, but it’s my job to make sure I stay in command of the team.”
- Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers didn’t make a splashy trade during the offseason, but all his smaller pick-ups have worked out, observes Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area. Myers filled the roster with Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr., all of whom have contributed to the team’s league-best 9-1 start.
- Defense was among the many topics that Clippers guard Reggie Jackson wanted to talk about after Tuesday’s win over the Trail Blazers, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. He said everyone has bought into the scheme, enabling L.A. to rank in the top three in team defense despite playing without Kawhi Leonard. “(Ivica Zubac) and myself and a few of us have actually been joking about (Luke Kennard’s) willingness to play defense, honestly,” Jackson said. “He’s been such a threat on offense and now the way that he’s locking in on defense and giving his best effort, he understands what we’re trying to get accomplished, he understands where help’s coming from, where he needs to be at in help and it’s just getting contagious. Like, this is fun. It’s fun figuring it out.”
Porter – best play of his career, return to his peak but in ltd minutes
Bjelica – much improved defense, also playing extremely well
Igoudala – playing like he’s 30 not 37, hasn’t been this good since 2017
GP2 – most improved candidate, playing like Russ
Poole – also MIP candidate, turning into Kyrie’s replacement as he stupids himself out of the league
Damion Lee – Also MIP candidate, playing by far the best of his career, his defense is as improved as Curry’s
Curry top 3 offense AND defense player this year?
Klay Thompson not returning at 60%, 80% or even 100% but 110+%???!! Game 6 Klay is every game??!
Draymond proving he’s a historical defender and point-center.
JTA – like GP2 pulled literally from nowhere, both championship-level rotation pieces. Myers & Lacob went crazy, hitting on everything this offseason.
The only two players that GSW can upgrade are Wiggins and Looney, and they have draft picks to pair with them. Ben Simmons and Myles Turner make this Warriors team nasty no matter who leaves at the end of this season. Not only are GSW dominating the W-L, they are going to dominate the trade deadline too.
Jacob, Myers, Kerr, coaching staff amd front office all deserve major credit. As for players, Wiseman has potential to give the team a major lift just like GP2. Let’s hope he plays with the same hunger and intensity.
According to Marty Golden State’s heading for another 73-9 season.
Oh come on 64-8 doesnt seem impossible to close the season lols.
Another win!
Now we need 63-8, or 64-7 to break the record…
Why would you want Simmons? He would destroy the team.
Its impossible to destroy the Warriors. They are always the culture first team.
But yeah they really dont need to trade anyone if they dont want to, theyre winning 70+ either way.
And you want to destroy that culture. A selfish guy on an unselfish team is a bad idea. Why waste draft choices on a guy that obviously doesn’t want to play?
I’m going to have to agree with @Giants74 here. Simmons is not a good addition at all. He will be an absolute waste because he is hard-headed and is pretty inconsistent as well
If I were the Warriors I wouldn’t want Ben Simmons. That team was great because of shooting and defense. Draymond was actually shooting back then. Ben will never shoot. He only shoots his shot when it comes to instathots.
The bulls is their next opponent if im not mistaken, that will be a tough one, imo! 2nd loss or 11th win?
#FreeMBIII