The Sacramento Kings are finding out the hard way that everybody’s a critic in the digital age.
In a spirited tweet, the father of Kings’ big-man Marvin Bagley III demanded that his son be traded after being benched in the fourth quarter.
https://twitter.com/gwiss/status/1345527822337638405
After the game, Kings’ head coach Luke Walton addressed Bagley Sr.’s comments.
https://twitter.com/NBCSKings/status/1345533971510259716
“My message is always the same – we don’t listen to any of that,” Walton said.
“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 was picked second overall in the 2018 NBA draft between perennial all-star candidates Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic.
In three years in the league, Bagley has played 91 games, averaging 14.6PPG and 7.6RPG on 49%, 29%, 70% shooting splits.
This season, Richaun Holmes has largely outplayed Bagley in key situations, thus earning coach Walton’s favor.
It’s clear that Bagley’s best basketball is still in front of him – but outbursts from his family won’t do anything to impress the Kings front office or opposing teams interested in trading for him.