The Sacramento Kings have picked up a pair of team options on both De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III, according to Sean Cunningham of KXTV Sacramento:
Kings are picking the 3rd year option on Marvin Bagley III and the fourth year of De'Aaron Fox, as expected. They've also declined the option on Caleb Swanigan.
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 31, 2019
The move will make Bagley and Fox members of the Kings through 2021, and establishes the two young stars as the core of a rebuilding Kings squad.
Sacramento was in the playoff race for the majority of the 2018-19 season before eventually fading due to injuries and inconsistencies. Team president Vlade Divac fired former head coach Dave Joerger at the end of the season, replacing him with former Lakers coach Luke Walton.
Unfortunately, the Kings have gotten off to a rough start. Marvin Bagley fractured his right thumb on opening night, setting him back four to six weeks. The breakout duo of Fox and Buddy Hield have been inefficient, and Bogdan Bogdanovic has had an even worse time shooting the ball.
As bad as the Kings have been offensively, they have been even worse on the defensive end. Sacramento ranks 26th out of 30 teams in defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference.
Fox especially could see some improvement as an individual defender. He has tremendous length and quickness and should be able to keep up with opposing guards, but he struggles to get around screens and has the occasional lapse in losing track of his man.
The Kings also need Bagley back for the simple fact that they have no interior scoring presence. They lost Willie Cauley-Stein to the Warriors this offseason and Dewayne Dedmon is more of a defensive-minded player in the frontcourt.
Regardless, the Kings will have a clearer vision of their future with both Fox and Bagley on the floor.
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