The Sacramento Kings passed up the opportunity to draft a talisman in Luka Doncic, but not due to a personal agenda. Despite rumors that general manager Vlade Divac refused to draft the Rookie of the Year due to a prior history of disliking his father Sasa, there are factors that point to other reasons for Divac's decision to draft Marvin Bagley III instead.
Kings voice Grant Napear was the first to vehemently deny the original report, which was part of a conversation between ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and colleague Tim MacMahon during The Woj Pod.
However, there is more than bad blood factoring into Divac's decision to pass on the Slovenian wonderkid.
The Phoenix Suns, who had Doncic's international coach in Igor Kokoskov, passed on drafting him in favor of Deandre Ayton. While the Kings, boasting two European legends in their GM Divac and assistant GM Peja Stojakovic, opted to draft Bagley due to Doncic's ball-dominant pedigree and the potential conflict with the development of De'Aaron Fox, who they had drafted the year prior.
Via Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports:
“Marvin is for us a better fit, a better player, and a great talent, so he’s the choice for us,” Divac told reporters after the 2018 NBA Draft.
Divac had told ESPN's Zach Lowe where he was leaning toward back in March:
“I like Luka, but we didn't want to overload with players who — maybe they don't have the exact same characteristics, but if you want to develop the guys you have, you have to make sure they have room to develop.”
This was certainly a mistake, as Doncic has managed to work well with other stars like Kristaps Porzingis, while also jelling well with Dennis Smith Jr. during his time with the team.
Divac erred in this decision, as the 6-foot-6 forward has turned into an undeniable star in his brief time in the league, but it doesn't look to be due to any personal convictions that affected his choice.
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