What a strange season for Marvin Bagley III. First removed from the Kings’ rotation by Luke Walton at the start of the season, the inside then had his chance with Alvin Gentry and returned correct copies, before finally being transferred during the “trade deadline”, in the direction of from Detroit.
If it’s a step backwards sportingly since the Pistons are the worst team in the league, it’s a step forward individually. Marvin Bagley III needs to play to revive his career and the Pistons are giving him that chance.
” I am enthusiastic “he assures Detroit Free Press. ” It’s a new start. We have a lot of young players in the team, who play hard every night. We played them this year and they gave it their all. It caught my attention and I’m very excited to be here. »
The former Kings is not yet 23 years old (he will be in a month, March 14) but following 148 games played in Sacramento, his offensive qualities have been well observed… just like his limits. He is in his fourth season and hasn’t really improved since his very interesting first year, in 2018/19.
“He fits very well into the calendar of our group, with our young players”explains Troy Weaver, the GM of the Pistons. “The only thing we lacked, and it’s my fault, was athleticism inside. He will bring us this. He’s athletic on the rebound, he can run and score. He’s a second draft pick. At the Kings, he had his ups and downs. He has known several coaches, and everything has not been constant for him for three seasons. But we can’t wait to have him with us. »
“We are going to put him in our environment and we hope that he will be regular and that then, with his talent, he will explode”
His lows were injuries, then sometimes his attitude, such as his refusal to come into play once morest the Suns at the start of the season, or his lack of involvement in defense. Inevitably, he considers that these criticisms are unjustified.
“I hear a lot of people saying that I’m not a team player, that things are wrong with my teammates. We also talk regarding defense. People always have things to say. If you ask any player I’ve played with, they don’t say anything bad. Because I try to get to know each of my teammates. »
Why didn’t the Pistons wait until summer to sign Marvin Bagley III? Since it would have avoided parting with several players (Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles) to recover it.
“We wanted him to be in our mould”Troy Weaver justifies himself. “We wanted to feel him with us, work with him, see how he adapts rather than waiting for free agency. I’ve always believed in that: the players have to come to you. We did it with Hamidou Diallo (moved to Detroit in March 2021). We want it to be within our walls, to assimilate to our locker room. Thus, we see who they are before betting big on them. That’s why we acted like that. We will put him in our environment and we hope that he will be consistent and then, with his talent, he will explode. »
| Marvin Bagley III | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | SAC | 62 | 25 | 50.4 | 31.2 | 69.1 | 2.6 | 5.0 | 7.6 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 14.9 |
| 2019-20 | SAC | 13 | 26 | 46.7 | 18.2 | 80.6 | 2.2 | 5.2 | 7.5 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 14.2 |
| 2020-21 | SAC | 43 | 26 | 50.4 | 34.3 | 57.5 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 7.4 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 14.1 |
| 2021-22 | SAC | 30 | 22 | 46.3 | 24.2 | 74.5 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 7.2 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 9.3 |
| Total | 148 | 25 | 49.4 | 29.9 | 67.1 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 7.4 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 13.5 | |