Former Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac provided a blunt answer on his decision to draft Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic in 2018.
On Byron Scott’s podcast, ‘Fast Break’, Divac explained why he didn’t decide to draft the now six-time All-Star.
“I actually went to Madrid to talk to Luka a year before the draft,” Divac said. “So he was definitely top on the list. But, obviously, it looks like I made a mistake. Luka is an unbelievable talent, definitely, with Nikola [Jokic] one of the top players in the league,” Divac said [h/t HoopsHype. “My thinking was — because all of my assistants told me that he can play small forward, and I said no, Luka is a point guard, Luka is a coach on the floor. And I felt that if I get Luka, I have to trade [De’Aaron] Fox. And I already got a relationship with Fox, and I see he can do it. A small market team, he’s a perfect fit for him. Luka is a big market player.”
Passing on Luka Doncic proves costly
The decision to draft Bagley over Doncic was a mistake from the start. The Slovenian native was hot right out of the gate and won Rookie of the Year. As for Bagley, there were a ton of things that went wrong, including injuries, poor defensive performance, and very limited skill development.
When compared to a player like Doncic, the comparison can feel unfair—but it’s also understandable given the fact that Bagley was drafted over him.
Bagley is on his fourth team in eight years, while Doncic is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.