They had not warned. It had not been seen coming. But yesterday, with the Detroit Pistons in front, the first quarter was facing its final stretch when Luke Walton, possibly suffering the greatest hot seat of all the technicians of the League, he gave the order. And Marvin Bagley III, who had not played since the opening game, jumped onto the court for the first time in front of his audience this season to accumulate a total of 17:42 minutes and score 7 points, capture 3 rebounds and put a block in what would be the sixth victory of yours this course.
Now the multiple choice question: Why this twist?
A) Pardon
B) Despair
C) Showcase
The first option, the one in which the franchise and the player turn the page and reconcile as if nothing had happened, and Marvin Bagley returned naturally to the rotation, is the most far-fetched and difficult to believe. That he power-forward He is a great player and that both his offensive and rebounding virtues are good for the team, Luke Walton knows this from day one, so correcting on the fly what had been a perfect decision (we don’t count on you, Marvin), would be of a professional humility difficult to assimilate.
The second option: pure desperation. Knowing those same weapons but now with his seat as the Kings’ head coach on the brink, Luke Walton would swallow his pride and gamble with this latest bullet in case bringing Bagley III back into the rotation could mean a sudden downpour. of victories that would calm the internal waters and he would retain his position. Sounds better. More of this world.
And the definitive one; the most plausible and typical and the one we all opted for when Ben Simmons returned to training with the 76ers although he did not finally go beyond there. Play for the whole world to see you play. The revaluation trick. Bagley III is a player who feeds you the boxscore without problems, and before a possible transfer (4 days ago we got the interest of the Pistons, his opponent last night, but yesterday he also joined, according to heavy.com, that of the Chicago Bulls), seeing that the player in question is not rusty and can perform immediately, increases his value in the showcase and increases your power at the negotiation table.
Guti
In addition, and as indicated by the portal Real GMOn November 10, Walton already had the intention of taking Bagley III to the park, but nothing more than for the garbage minutes against the Suns, to which the former number 2 of the draft refused. Very Guti. “Everything that happens within our group stays within our group,” Walton weathered the matter.
Slights like this, in any case, only diminish the value of options A and B. But still everything can be and happen.
(Cover photo by Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)