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Sacramento Kings: Grading Marvin Bagley’s rookie season

By Justin Fried

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 10: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings reacts after making a shot against the Detroit Pistons at Golden 1 Center on January 10, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 10: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings reacts after making a shot against the Detroit Pistons at Golden 1 Center on January 10, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Sacramento Kings
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 19: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings reacts after making a basket against the Brooklyn Nets at Golden 1 Center on March 19, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

The Bad

Bagley is going to be a very special player one day, he just isn’t fully there yet. After all, there’s a reason that formed head coach Dave Joerger decided to keep him coming off the bench for essentially all of the season — even if many fans didn’t particularly agree with that decision.

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The plan was to slowly ease him into NBA action during his rookie season and there’s no denying he still needs plenty of developing as a player. The biggest knock on Bagley coming out of college was his defense and we saw plenty of those struggles early on.

Particularly with his overall team defense, Bagley struggled. The former No. 1 overall recruit had his fair share of issues with rotating on defense and was a little slow on the mental processing side of things. He certainly improved as the season went on, but the struggles were still apparent throughout the year.

Elsewhere, Bagley still doesn’t have the most accomplished outside shot even though it was better than expected this season. Perhaps the biggest flaw in his offensive game is his decision-making ability and passing propensity. Bagley’s 2.3 turnover rate could come down a bit and he averaged just one assist per every game he played in.

There’s plenty of potential to work with, but clearly still some room for growth.

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