Perhaps the Kings cannot have nice things or surprisingly good players because there will always be some kind of distraction on the horizon.
The Kings are 3-3, which isn’t quite a miracle, but no one would have been shocked had the Kings opened the season 2-4 or 1-5.
Even after Sacramento’s 102-94 loss Saturday at Houston, its second there in three days, is there any reason to panic? It was the Kings’ worst offensive showing of the season, featuring all the characteristics of bad basketball.
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There was too much dribbling, no player movement and not enough passing, and when the Kings managed to get a decent look, they missed more times than not, shooting 38.9 percent for the game.
With the Kings outscored 13-2 in the first 8:31 of the fourth quarter, a since-deleted post on the “Team Bagley” Twitter account asked the team to trade Marvin Bagley III “ASAP” and was signed “Coach Bagley.”
That would be Marvin Bagley Jr., the father of the Kings forward, who actively expresses his gripes about his son’s situation on social media.
The account later retweeted a screenshot of the original trade request that noted it came from Bagley Jr.:
Marvin Bagley's dad has requested a trade out of Sacramento for his son. Yikes city. https://t.co/S8jVnHuqKt
— Tony Xypteras (@TonyXypteras) January 3, 2021
So much for the talk about a surprising 3-3 start.
It’s not the first time those running the Team Bagley account have taken shots at the organization. It did so earlier in the week when Bagley III did not play in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s win over Denver, retweeting a post about Lakers fans not liking Luke Walton as a coach and others calling for Bagley III to play more, as well as complaining about Bagley III’s treatment and declaring him healthy after injuries limited him to 13 games last season.
Walton said he intended Bagley III to close Saturday’s game, but Richaun Holmes was playing well. He decided to let Holmes finish the game, and that decision was no reflection on Bagley III, who played just 1:41 in the fourth quarter. Walton said if the roles were reversed, he would have stuck with Bagley III, and he was sure Holmes would have been fine with the decision.
What since does it make to treat Marvin Bagley III this way? No worries, it will surely work out. #TEAMBAGLEY 💪🏾🙏🏾
— Team Bagley™ (@TeamBagley) December 30, 2020
Walton, who is not on social media and has said he has no desire to be, said whatever is tweeted has no bearing on what he does.
“My message is always the same: We don’t listen to any of that,” Walton said. “It’s us within these walls, us within this locker room. We’re in this together. Good or bad, whatever people are saying, we’ve got to do everything we can to not let that affect what we’re trying to get done here.”
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This, of course, puts Bagley III, who did not speak to the media after the game, in a tough situation.
He has often expressed his love and admiration for his father and family and would not want to say anything to disparage them.
But if he says anything other than “I do not want to be traded,” he would appear to be co-signing on the unhappiness of his father. That has simmered since his rookie season, according to league sources, when Bagley Jr. did not like the coaching of Dave Joerger.
Luke Walton responds to a since-deleted tweet from Marvin Bagley III's father asking the Kings to trade his son pic.twitter.com/N38eofrgu8
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 3, 2021
The Kings’ front office promised Bagley III’s representatives in 2018, when he was drafted No. 2, he would be eased into the starting lineup by the All-Star break.
But the Kings were playing well and Joerger was not inclined to simply start Bagley III based on that promise, which put a strain on Joerger’s relationship with him.
When Joerger misspoke and referred to Bagley III as Motown legend Marvin Gaye in a game at Detroit, Bagley Jr. began to refer to Joerger as “Yogurt” as a way of saying his last name wrong.
The former front office, which included general manager Vlade Divac and assistant general managers Brandon Williams and Peja Stojakovic, took the approach that Bagley Jr. was just a father who wanted to see his son play.
Whatever Bagley Jr. posted on social media was of no consequence to the organization.
Calling Joerger “Coach Yogurt” was silly at worst, and Joerger was fired at the end of the 2018-19 season in part because of his relationship with players.
Still, the idea of the Team Bagley account or Bagley Jr. requesting a trade takes the problem to another level.
If Bagley III doesn’t say he does not want to be traded, he would be labeled a malcontent who has no right to feel that way given he’s played in only 81 games across three seasons. It will also be another reminder the Kings passed on generational talents such as Luka Doncic and Trae Young, who were All-Stars last season, while Bagley III has struggled with injuries.
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The Kings have already picked up the contract option on Bagley III for next season, which is worth $11.3 million, and expected this season would be when he would find his footing.
He is averaging 11.8 points and eight rebounds while shooting 37.5 percent (27-for-72) overall, 30.8 percent (4-for-13) from 3-point range and 61.9 percent (13-for-21) on free throws in 25 minutes. He also has six assists, two steals and two blocks in six games while committing 13 turnovers and 19 fouls.
Struggles and inconsistency were expected, especially considering Bagley III went 11 months between regular-season appearances. He broke his right thumb in last season’s opener and sprained both feet on separate occasions.
With such limited playing time last season, getting Bagley III caught up on the court has been a priority as the Kings knew there would be ups and downs as he learned the concepts and players around the league.
“He’s been great as far as actively learning, actively searching out to become better and get a better understanding of some of these types of things,” Walton said. “There’s mistakes happening, for sure, but as long as the player is trying and willing to do the things we’re asking, you live with those mistakes from young players. It’s the way our league is and the best teacher is always going to be experience, so the more he goes through things, the more he’ll pick them up. Like I said, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Bagley III had 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists on Saturday, but the Kings offense was a mess, especially in the second half.
The Kings scored just 30 points in the second half, shooting 11 of 43. The Rockets weren’t much better, scoring 38 points after halftime. But the Rockets (2-2) were able to lean on Eric Gordon scoring 16 of his 21 points in the second half and John Wall, who scored 12 of his game-high 28 points in the final two quarters.
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Houston was without James Harden because of a sprained right ankle.
The Kings hurt themselves by trying to beat the Rockets off the dribble, which is not their strength, as the Rockets’ switching defense forced them into mistakes.
“We tried to go at too many mismatches or what we thought were mismatches,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “The best way to attack switching is moving it and we kept getting stalled out. That’s what really kind of slowed our offense down in the second half.”
Some of those struggles happened because rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton was out with a bone bruise in his left wrist. Haliburton, who has already shown a knack for being a good decision-maker, will also miss Monday’s game at Golden State.
Barnes called Haliburton a “connector” who knows how to fill voids and get teammates involved.
The Kings certainly lacked connection on offense in the second half.
“When that defense really showed up in the second and started taking away our primary actions, those are times so far early in this season where Tyrese has done a good job of breaking free, getting to the rim, creating,” Walton said. “Not having that definitely played a part in it tonight, but you can’t use that as an excuse. We’ve got to step up and still get that same type of job done no matter who’s out there on the court.”
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 23 points and four assists. Barnes had 19 points and seven rebounds. Buddy Hield had 17 points and Holmes had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Saturday was the worst the Kings had looked this season, mainly because of their offense.
“Look at these first six games: This is the game that sticks out as the most uncharacteristic for us because offensively, we were stagnant. We didn’t get into the rhythm that we wanted,” Barnes said. “Only 11 assists for the game — that’s not us. We run, we pass, we move it and then defensively, it’s just building a wall. They just had too many layups repeatedly.”
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Walton said the Kings were angered by the loss, but they should feel good about where they are after six games.
The Kings didn’t win until their sixth game last season.
“We’ve got to throw this one out,” Hield said. “We’re mad that we lost. Everybody’s mad that we lost, but this is the first time this year we’ve felt like this. Weird game, but no excuse. We’ve got to be better.”
Fox said the Kings have to tap into the identity they looked to establish this season to make them forget about Saturday’s sad second half.
“For us, we’ve just got to get back to what we were doing,” Fox said. “Passing the ball, actually setting good screens, cutting, hitting the open man, and I don’t think we did a lot of that in the second half.”
(Photo of Bagley, right, and Christian Wood: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
Jason Jones is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Culture. Previously, he spent 16 years at the Sacramento Bee, covering the Sacramento Kings and Oakland Raiders. He's a proud Southern California native and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Follow Jason on Twitter @mr_jasonjones
