The Sacramento Kings surprised some when they selected Marvin Bagley III with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, passing on the opportunity to take Real Madrid star Luka Doncic, especially given the Kings’ roster construction.
As training camp begins, the Kings are projected to, once again, be one of the league’s worst teams and may very well find themselves at the top of the draft next year. On Wednesday, Gabe Vincent signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Kings, a move that would typically not draw much attention, but this is the Kings and they can’t even manage to avoid controversy with something as simple as this.
A photo of Vincent inking his deal in Vlade Divac’s office was tweeted out on Wednesday and, as has happened in the past, the whiteboard in Divac’s office is visible and among the nuggets of information able to be seen is how their 2018 draft board looked.
Congrats to @iamgabevincent2 on signing with @SacramentoKings! Incredible competitor and even better person. Good luck! #gauchofamily pic.twitter.com/kgj4gcPojN
— Joe Pasternack (@Joe_Pasternack) October 3, 2018
Deandre Ayton is at the top, followed by Marvin Bagley III, Luka Doncic, Michael Porter Jr., Mo Bamba, and either Mikal or Miles Bridges. It’s surprising to see no mention of Jaren Jackson Jr. (who went fourth) and it’s clear they weren’t interested in any point guards since neither Trae Young nor Collin Sexton make an appearance. Porter being that high is a surprise, given how far he slipped to the Nuggets at 14, but it jives with the rumblings that were coming out ahead of the draft that Porter was high on some teams boards at the very top.
This is far from the first time this has happened, and it’s not nearly as bad as the time in 2017 when the Magic had their entire offseason plans spoiled by a similar picture. Still, it’s amazing no one has learned their lesson here and stopped allowing people to take pictures of them signing in the GM’s office. Just do it literally anywhere else in the building where important information isn’t written on the walls.
Also on the whiteboard is the Kings apparent projection for their 2018-19 record, which Sacramento apparently believes will be 29-53, but the most important thing is that Vlade Divac has a printed out photoshop of “The Vladfather” taped to the corner by his desk.
That’s the good stuff. Never change, Kings.
