It has taken a long time to say this with 100 percent confidence, but the future of the Sacramento Kings looks bright. The Kings are currently positioned in 7th place in a loaded Western Conference with a 16-13 record, and regardless of what the remainder of the 2018-19 season holds for this young squad, they have earned some respect from teams around the league that pegged them as a group that could be easily trounced these last few years.
The reason for the Kings' change of fortunes are due in large part to the exponential growth of point guard De'Aaron Fox in his second NBA season, and the promising start from power forward Marvin Bagley III in his rookie campaign. The thought of building a potential powerhouse with two cornerstone players would make any head coach giddy, and Kings head coach Dave Joerger may have gotten a little too carried away when he called Bagley and Fox the "next Durant-Westbrook."
"There's no veiled shots at anybody," Joerger said. "When we drafted Bagley at two, we were high-fiving like crazy. We got the right guy for us. This isn't going to be a story in three days, and it'll be definitely buried five years from now when we have the next Durant-Westbrook. That's how good they're gonna be."
Joerger's praise of Bagley (and Fox) comes after the Kings head coach spoke highly of Dallas Mavericks rookie point guard Luka Doncic. "Perhaps there was an idea that there was a ceiling on him. I don't see it, unfortunately for us," he said. "But he's great for them and he's great for our league." Many people perceived Joerger's comments to be a dig at the Sacramento front office for passing on Doncic with the No. 2 pick in this year's NBA Draft. His latest remarks will surely put all that Luka talk on the back burner now.
