Marvin Bagley’s agent issued a rare public statement on Tuesday in light of the team’s treatment of his client on the eve of his final season under contract.
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“Sacramento has informed Marvin Bagley he is not in the opening night rotation, which is completely baffling,” Jeff Schwartz said in a prepared statement.
“It’s clear they have no plans for him in the future, and yet, passed on potential deals at last year’s deadline and this summer based on ‘value.’ Instead, they chose to bring him back but not play him, a move completely contradictory to their ‘value’ argument.”
The statement stopped short of demanding a trade, which would’ve likely drawn a massive fine from the NBA and put Bagley’s reputation at risk.
On the other side, Schwartz has tried to get Bagley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, traded without success. Last season, Bagley suffered a broken wrist a month before the trade deadline.
Monday marked the deadline for players to sign their rookie scale extensions, and Bagley did not sign his. This looks to be an indication that he wants to leave Sacramento. He will become a restricted free agent this summer.
The Kings right now are monitoring their new smaller style of play when the season begins, however, more importantly for Kings fans, the team aren’t aggressively or even actively looking to trade Bagley, it has been revealed.
The overall statement, which is unlike Schwartz, whose clients are under contract for more than $450 million, makes him the most prolific agent in the league.
Bagley, who has been hounded by series of injuries over his first three years in the league, did not sign an extension with the team before Monday’s deadline for players on their rookie scale contracts.
Bagley has averaged a very solid 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds last season, starting all but one game for the Kings.
“This is a case study in mismanagement by the Kings organisation,” Schwartz said.
Kings coach Luke Walton elected to play smaller lineups this pre-season, mostly to experiment with guard-heavy lineups, meant that Bagley’s playing time was limited, for the time being.
Sacramento – who went 4-0 in pre-season – opens their NBA season against Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday.
