After selecting Marvin Bagley III with the number two pick in this year's draft, the Sacramento Kings believe they have the makings of a competitive young roster.They have the longest playoff drought in the NBA after failing to secure a berth for the last 12 seasons.But they are slowly building a team capable of posing more of a threat in the Western Conference.
Talent
Vlade Divac claims the Sacramento Kings have a young "superteam"
Bagley will join a young core featuring last year's number five pick De'Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield.
General manager Vlade Divac is certainly excited by the prospect of the Kings roster and believes they're good enough to compete with the best in the league.
During the introductory press conference for their recent draft pick, Divac made a bold claim about the young squad.
“My team is a super team, just young,” Divac said, per Slam.
“We are, you know, competing. We are playing hard, we are playing fun, fast. We talk about last year, you had a few of those super teams… we beat them twice, I believe.
"We just have to learn and be better every day, every year.”
It's a bit of a crazy claim by the Serbian but you can't fault him for having confidence in the team he's worked to assemble in Sacramento.
But they'll have to prove themselves in the NBA and become a winning team before statements like these can be taken seriously.
Future star
The arrival of Bagley will certainly help to make them better as he's a talented player capable of making an immediate impact.
The 19-year-old averaged a double-double of 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in his lone season in college with Duke.
He's a very versatile player who can play in multiple positions on the court and he's hoping to showcase his all-around game in the NBA.
“I’m just looking forward to showing every aspect of my game,” Bagley said. “I’m an all-around player and how comfortable I am with the ball, dribbling the ball, handling it, creating for teammates, making the right basketball play, just playing the game.”
With the franchise failing to register a winning season in over a decade, Sac hasn't been an attractive destination for players but the young forward is delighted to be part of the organisation.
“I had a good feeling about this team, the city, the direction they’re trying to go,” Bagley said.
“I was just trying to hear everybody out and do whatever I could to have a good workout and I’m glad they picked me.”
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