Nemanja Bjelica has lost her place in the Kings in recent weeks, and there is little he can do about it, the team focusing on the future and a certain Marvin Bagley III in his post. Luke Walton wants to calm the rumors, but admits half-heartedly that the Belgrade sniper in Sacramento is no longer being relied on. Good luck !
The hype from the start of the season quickly swept over to Sacramento. With three wins in five games and some great promises, the Kings could hope for the best for Luke Walton’s second exercise on the spot, but the situation quickly turned black. Since then, the team remains on eight defeats (including a lot of jails) in eleven games after its success against the Knicks (104 to 93), ending a series of four failures. Several changes have taken place since the start of 2021 in the rotations of Steve Kerr’s former right-hand man in the Warriors and the main losers are Cory Joseph and Nemanja Bjelica. The Canadian point guard faces some talented back row contenders De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. For its part, the Serbian interior is mainly hampered by Marvin Bagley III, finally left alone by his body and very used this season. As Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee, the 32-year-old shooter has not played the last six games played by the Kings after having seen his role diminish gradually since the resumption. His situation remains strange, the franchise not communicating specifically about his case and having first of all mentioned personal reasons to justify his exclusion from the group. Walton had tried to calm the rumors on Sunday, January 17, ruling out any possible quarrel with the player and speaking of a quick return before the match against the Pelicans (123 to 128), but the player did not find the floor, however. since. And then, the excuse of looking for defensive solutions goes badly for an already catastrophic team with the Serbian certainly, but not better without him on this side of the floor. Sacto points to 29is place in the NBA in terms of points conceded (121.2) and is last in defensive efficiency (119.7). Coach Walton’s words a week ago have therefore aged quite badly.
“We talked him and me. Again, we are all on the same page and it is not benché due to lack of confidence. There are personal things and I’m going to leave it there, but we’ve been in communication and we’re still very confident in the player he is. […] We will soon bring him back into the rotation. But looking at it from a different perspective, our main concern right now is defense, how do we start getting stops, and we need to see what we can do about that. For now, I’m happy to see which groups can be set up and help us in this direction. “
As revealed by Sacramento Bee, the real reason for the player’s benching is actually quite different. The Kings, and in particular their new general manager Monte McNair, want to build the future of the franchise around young people and of course mainly around Fox. Drafted in 2nd position in 2018, Bagley III would also still be part of these plans, just the opposite of Bjelica. Not especially athletic, widely more famous for his shoot than for his physical qualities and rather clumsy, it is true that the Serbian strong winger signed in 2018 for three years and $ 20.5 million by Sacto has nothing to do with profiles very versatile now popular. With the player finding himself free next summer, the team tried to trade him before the start of the 2020-21 season and have not given up on the idea for the next few weeks. If he no longer finds favor in the eyes of the new Kings decision-makers, determined to make room for young people, let’s not forget that Bjelica is not a district player either, far from it! The former Minnesota was also coming out of his best career season before this sudden turnaround that put him at a disadvantage. This 2019-20 exercise (11.5 points to 41.9% at 3-points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 27 minutes of play) proves that Nemanja Bjelica can still legitimately fulfill a much larger role. than currently on an NBA team. So let’s hope for both camps that a solution is quickly found as Luke Walton fumbles to prepare for the future while not totally disgusting Kings fans.
“It’s a balancing act. […] You’re looking for what the future of this team will be like, and a lot of that has to do with De’Aaron, Tyrese, Marvin and Buddy. We need them. We need them to improve, but at the same time we are trying to win. There is no easy answer to this question. It’s about finding a balance between experience and exposure. You hear me say all the time that the best way to learn things is to participate in it, but there is a certain pain and difficult times that come throughout this process. “
With or without Nemanja Bjelica on the floor, the Kings remain well rinsed in recent days. A more or less long-term departure, next summer at the latest, of the Serbian nevertheless seems the most likely scenario, the team wishing to rely on its young people. We understand: it may not win more, but the excuse of youth will at least be found!
Source texte : Sacramento Bee
