If you are a fan of the Detroit Pistons, I don’t blame you for forgetting about Marvin Bagley III, as he has bounced around since leaving Detroit, mostly on bad teams, but he’s having a bit of resurgence this season that he could parlay into a new contract.
MBIII was one of several “second draft” guys Troy Weaver brought to Detroit in what became his signature move as GM. MBIII clearly had talent, so maybe he just needed a new environment to thrive.
That environment wasn’t Detroit, though Bagley III certainly had his moments. Back then, he was still a defensive liability and was launching 3’s at an alarming rate considering he couldn’t make one to save his life.
But MBIII has cut down the 3’s, ramped up the defense and is now finding life with the Dallas Mavericks, who will have competition for his services this summer.
Marvin Bagley III might have finally found his groove
I was reading a recent article about NBA free agents, and which ones were the most likely to leave their current teams, and to my surprise, I saw MBIII listed for Dallas. This is what the author had to say:
“In a pretty wild turn of events, Marvin Bagley III, who's on his fifth team in eight seasons, is playing at a starter's level and is now outperforming the No. 1 pick from the year he went second.
Bagley is putting up 18.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 blocks per 75 possessions, with a well-above-average true shooting percentage.
With the way he's played for the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks, there's a good chance Bagley has played his way into another contract.”
I’d be lying if I said I’ve watched much of the Wizards and Mavs this season, but it’s good to hear that MBIII may finally be realizing some of that talent.
We shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves here, as he’s still a bench player on a bad team, but he’s putting up 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds since joining the Mavericks, better numbers than Deandre Ayton has put up this season.
The 2018 draft will always be remembered for its misses, as three teams passed on Luka Doncic to draft Ayton, MBIII and Trae Young, none of whom are with the teams that drafted them and were looked at as negative assets.
MBIII will always be remembered as the guy Sacramento took instead of Luka, and there is no way he’s going to shake that aside from winning an MVP or helping a team to a title.
But it’s at least nice to see him getting back on track and finding a second life in his NBA career.