Former general manager of the Kings, Vlade Divac, argues that passing on Luka Doncic at the 2018 NBA Draft was the right choice.
If not for a serious error they made during the 2018 NBA Draft, Luka Doncic may have ended up with the Sacramento Kings. With the second overall choice in that draft, the Kings selected Marvin Bagley III over Doncic; former general manager Vlade Divac of the Kings publicly justified this selection.
Vlade Divac said he did not want to choose two point guards because he believed it was not possible to select Luka Doncic and De’Aaron Fox together in an interview with the Croatian website Index. Many have countered that this logic is flawed, particularly in light of the fact that Doncic has experience playing with different ball handlers, having found success in Dallas with guys like Kyrie Irving and Jalen Brunson.
Given the way things have worked out, Bagley has had difficulty holding onto his status in the league. On the other hand, Doncic has become a superstar after leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals and being selected five times for the First Team All-NBA.
Furthermore, considering the reason Fox was not picked by the Kings, his career has progressed satisfactorily if less spectacularly than Doncic’s. Fox has not progressed past the first round of the playoffs, whereas Doncic has continuously demonstrated that he is a strong candidate for MVP.
Luka Doncic’s encounter with former Kings’ General Manager
Doncic was instrumental in the Dallas Mavericks’ thrilling 107-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center during the previous season. In the last seconds, he pulled down a crucial defensive rebound, which led to a strange incident where he was fouled and awarded two free throws.
After making a free throw, he pointed and spoke to former Kings general manager Vlade Divac, shocking the spectators in the stadium. Fans’ focus was redirected by this exchange to the contentious 2018 NBA Draft, in which Divac had passed on Doncic.
Like he did in his most recent interview, Divac justified his decision at the time, saying that Bagley was a superior player and fit for Sacramento.
In terms of the Slovenian, he was moved to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round selection after being drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks.
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