Luke Walton Responds to Marvin Bagley's Father Demanding Trade in Deleted Tweet

Marvin Bagley II, the father of Sacramento Kings third-year forward Marvin Bagley III, posted a since-deleted tweet Saturday imploring the Kings to trade his son:

Kings head coach Luke Walton was asked about the tweet following his team's 102-94 loss to the Houston Rockets and provided the following response:

"My message is always the same—we don't listen to any of that," Walton told reporters.

"It's us within these walls, us within this locker room. We're in this together. Like I always say, good or bad, we've got to do everything we can to not let that affect what we're trying to get done here."

Bagley, whom the Kings selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, has posted 11.8 points on 37.5 percent shooting and 8.0 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game this year. He has started all six of the Kings' games, but Walton has chosen other players to close out games.

On Saturday, Bagley was on the bench for the last 8:37 of the Kings' loss to Houston.

In addition, Bagley didn't play the final 15:40 in a 122-119 loss to the Rockets on Thursday, and he sat the last 3:16 in a 106-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 26.

The former Duke star started his career with much promise, posting 14.9 points on 50.4 percent shooting and 7.6 rebounds per game during his rookie year. However, injuries held him to just 13 games in 2019-20, and he's gotten off to a slow start this season.

Bagley is a nightly double-double threat at his best, capable of putting up 20 points and 10 boards if given court time. However, he must fight through an early season funk and work his way back into his earlier pro form.

For now, Walton is opting for other players to close out games in the frontcourt. The 3-3 Kings play next at the Golden State Warriors on Monday evening.