The Sacramento Kings and the NBA draft have mixed about as well as oil and water over the past decade plus. The franchise seems to be a bust magnet like no other across the league. The Kings have whiffed on a bevy of notable draft selections in past seasons, like taking Thomas Robinson over Damian Lillard in 2012 or picking Georgios Papagiannis No. 13 overall in 2016.

In 2018, the Kings and former GM Vlade Divac had a chance to make amends and draft an impact player with the second overall pick of the draft. After the Phoenix Suns selected Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton out of Arizona with the first pick, the second player to go off the board seemed clear: Slovenian starlet Luka Doncic from Real Madrid.

However, Europe’s premier talent stayed in his seat as Adam Silver announced to the world that Sacramento had instead chosen Duke big man Marvin Bagley. Doncic was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks after swapping the fifth pick for the third with the Atlanta Hawks.

Since entering the league, Bagley and Doncic have had different impacts on their team’s success. Doncic has become the Mavs’ franchise cornerstone, displaying his plethora of offensive gifts to the tune of 21.2 points per game in his rookie campaign, followed up by back to back years with at least 28 a night. He also boasts averages of 8.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists across his three years in the league.

Meanwhile, Bagley has struggled to consistently stay on the court for the Kings. After missing 20 games in his first year, the young big appeared just 13 times in the 2019-20 season. This season, he remains plagued by injuries, having played just 37 of the team’s 55 games. His latest ailment is a broken hand, which has kept him out for over a month. Throughout Bagley’s short career, he has averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Much like in the years prior, the Kings have not been successful since the 2018 draft. The team has posted records of 39-43 and 31-41 in Bagley’s first two seasons, and are sitting at 22-33 so far this season.

Fans are quick to put down the young player and many want him traded. Sacramento’s GM Monte McNair allegedly offered Bagley to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for rookie forward Saddiq Bey, which Detroit declined. This trade rumor and its fallout showed just how little trade value Bagley really has across the league. As the trade deadline has passed, the third year player is set to stay in town at least till the end of the season.

It is easy to call Bagley a flop, as he has yet to play through a season free of injuries, has yet to put up spectacular stats and can’t net the trade return that the Kings want for a former second overall pick. But giving up on him and cutting him loose might not be a good option going forward.

Look no further than Knicks all star power forward Julius Randle. Randle was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014 with the seventh pick. He was far from an instant success, averaging 13.5 points in his first three seasons after sitting out almost his entire rookie year with a broken leg. The forward began to impress only after joining the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2018-19 season, where he averaged 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. This season, Randle’s seventh in the association, he is up to 23.3 points and 10.6 boards for the New York Knicks. Randle’s impressive stint in the Big Apple earned him his first all star nod, despite flying under the radar for much of his early career.

It is unclear whether Bagley could have a similar impact for the Kings as Randle has had for the Knicks, but it is surely worth the wait. Bagley is under contract on his rookie deal for one more season, and he still has a lot to prove in California’s capital.

The biggest concerns for Sacramento are if Bagley can stay happy and healthy. He has tremendous athletic ability, an effective post game and has shown improvement on both sides of the floor despite his numbers staying similar year to year. As the Lakers found out with Randle, some players just need more time before they show the full breadth of their abilities.

In retrospect, it’s easy to say that Doncic was the obvious choice and that Bagley should have been out of the picture once the Suns took Ayton. Or that he should have been given up on and traded at the deadline. But that is not the reality. Bagley is a King, and the team and fans need to reconcile with that fact. If the front office and coaching staff can give Bagley the freedom and motivation to keep improving, and his body can stay on his side, there is no telling how far the promising young talent could go.