Former Kings GM Vlade Divac Takes Full Blame For Passing On Luka Doncic

The past few seasons have been quite turbulent for the Kings, even for their standard. Despite landing multiple top five picks and trading DeMarcus Cousins, there was a glimmer of hope for the Kings. The emergence of De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield in the Kings backcourt finally brought back excitement to Sactown.

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But, in typical Kings fashion, a series of draft blunders and injuries has put them at the back of the standings and out of the playoffs again. One of those blunders included passing on Luka Doncic in the 2018 NBA Draft to select Duke center Marvin Bagley.

Former Kings General Manager Vlade Divac spoke on that decision with regret.

“In a wide-ranging interview with Marcos Breton of The Sacramento Bee, Divac, who resigned as the Kings’ general manager Friday, made sure it was known that the Bagley pick was on him, and it caused a rift with team owner Vivek Ranadivé.”

“That was my decision,” Divac told Breton. “I still believe Marvin has big upside. But I needed more time to prove it.

“I’m sure Marvin is going to prove everybody wrong. But in this league, you need to produce right now. People don’t have patience, but I’m OK with that.”

Yesterday, Divac announced he would be stepping down from the Kings job effective immediately. Divac was Kings GM since 2015 and made some great moves including drafting De’Aaron Fox and acquiring Buddy Hield from the Pelicans. But, missing out on Luka Doncic was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Doncic averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game during his second season.

Since being drafted, Marvin Bagley has showed incredible talent but has failed to remain healthy. This season, Bagley only played in thirteen games. During his rookie season, Bagley averaged 14.9 points, and 7.6 rebounds in 62 games. Despite health issues, Bagley has shown he can still be a force for the Kings going forward. Currently, Bagley is only 20-years old going into his third season.

Even though Bagley has upside, passing on Luka Doncic is one of those moves Divac may always regret.

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