Kings Rumors: Marvin Bagley III Favorite, Luka Doncic on Radar at No. 2
The Sacramento Kings are reportedly focusing their efforts on Duke Blue Devils forward Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 pick in Thursday's NBA draft, but they're also considering Real Madrid guard Luka Doncic and Missouri Tigers forward Michael Porter Jr. at that spot.
The New York Times' Marc Stein reported Wednesday that Bagley is the Kings' preferred option at the moment. However, they've also shown some interest in Porter, while other lottery teams are under the belief the Kings "ultimately can't resist" Doncic.
Stein's report echoes a pair of rumors from Tuesday regarding the Kings' thought process.
In his most recent mock draft, ESPN.com's Jonathan Givony wrote Sacramento has its "sights set firmly on Bagley," while the Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko tweeted Bagley is a "near-lock" to go second overall.
Going with a frontcourt player makes sense for the Kings given their current roster.
De'Aaron Fox is the future at point guard, and Bogdan Bogdanovic averaged 11.8 points and shot 39.2 percent on three-pointers as a rookie in 2017-18. The team probably isn't going to give up on Buddy Hield, either, since he was the centerpiece of the DeMarcus Cousins trade.
Power forward Harry Giles was a first-round pick last year but sat out his entire rookie season while recovering from ACL surgery. Bagley would be a clear upgrade over Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere.
Bagley averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in his only season with the Blue Devils, and he showed some range, connecting on 39.7 percent of his 58 three-point attempts.
With Deandre Ayton widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick, there's little separating Bagley from Doncic, Porter, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Mohamed Bamba. Because of that, Kings fans are likely to be split regardless of what the team does Thursday.
