Little Nathan wrote:Bagley can't pass, can't really shoot, is a meh shot blocker and overall weak interior defender and he definitely can't keep up with smaller perimeter players on defense. How is that a "modern big"? IMO his best position is very clearly center, where he can certainly do some things for you on offense, but the Kangz obviously can't admit that because then they would probably also have to admit that the guy they drafted over Luka is not even their best center right now. Oh, and he's injured a lot.
That pick really was an all-timer in terms of the worst picks ever.
There was a lot of debate about whether Luka would translate or not.
Meanwhile, I wasn't a big fan of Bagley in the draft (certainly preferred JJJ over him), but I think this is bad take.
Bagley shot 81% from the stripe last year - albeit on small sample size - and 69% as a rookie (not good, but not "can't shoot" bad). He shot 31% from 3 as a rook on decent volume - again, not good, but particularly for a rookie not terrible. In college, he shot nearly 40% from 3 on a greater volume than Carter did. But mostly the selling point for Bagley was a combination of athleticism with some promise on the shooting - kind of like Carter, with much more athleticism and natural scoring ability, much less defensive awareness.
I wouldn't be looking to trade much of significant for Bagley - maybe someone along the lines of Hutch or Valentine (and that's if Sacramento would take that kind of return). At the same time, he did look good as a rookie and as a "buy low" candidate, I'd be very interested. These are the types of low cost gambles that you make that if they pay off, great, and if not, no big loss.
