Marvin Bagley III’s college reclassification is great for Chicago Bulls’ 2018 plan
Late on Monday night, Marvin Bagley III, the No. 1 recruit in the 2018 high school basketball class, reclassified to the 2017 class and will play for Duke this season. That’s great news for the Chicago Bulls and their plan for 2018 and beyond.
(Really) late on Monday evening, Marvin Bagley III, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2018 class for high school basketball made a couple big announcements on an episode of ESPN’s Sportscenter.
Not only did Bagley III announce he was reclassifying to the class of 2017 to make himself eligible to play this season among the college ranks, he was also committing to Duke University.
Believe it or not, that’s some humongous news for Chicago Bulls fans, who have been hearing about this plan for 2018 and beyond from the front office pairing of John Paxson and Gar Forman for quite a while now. Not only will the 2018 draft class be even more spectacular with Bagley III in the fold now, the free agent class is going to be as star-studded as the NBA All-Star Game.
Names such as LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins will all be free agents next summer. It’s a long shot that the Bulls pull in any of those names, but they can make a much better case for future free agents with someone like Marvin Bagley III in the equation.
After Bagley III’s commitment to Duke, the Blue Devils went from a 12/1 favorite to the win the title this season to a 3/1 favorite, according to ESPN and Westgate Superbook on Monday night. He’s a fantastic prospect, standing a shade under seven feet tall and with the ability to handle the basketball and score from anywhere on the floor as a smooth, sleek left-hander.
He’s not Kevin Durant, so don’t let that description sway you that way, but he’s arguably the best high school prospect since a kid by the name of Anthony Davis rose through the Chicago high school hoop ranks to become a national champion and one of the best players in the NBA today.
How does this affect the Bulls next summer? It’s simple really. It’s not just a race for Mizzouri’s Michael Porter, Jr. or Real Madrid’s Luka Doncic anymore. The goal for the Bulls should be to get into the top three picks for next year’s draft to snag the previous two or to secure the Bag(ley).
You could’ve made the case that had Bagley III played at Duke, UCLA or USC — the three schools in the running for his likely one year of college ball — last season, he would’ve gone ahead of Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball in this past draft. The kid is special, just like Porter and Doncic are.
The more options for the Bulls to draft a bonafide superstar, the better for the Bulls. Putting themselves in line for a proper rebuild is the most important thing outside of current player development with guys like Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. No free agents next summer are going to want to come to a team that has no viable assets to offer an already-proven star in the league today. The Bulls currently have one of the worst rosters in the league, but things can change quickly if the dominoes fall the Bulls’ way.
With the Bulls in line to potentially take Bagley III, Porter or Doncic, that intrigues matters a little bit. These are the early favorites to go 1-2-3 in the 2018 NBA Draft. The order is up to you, but one of the Bulls’ main priorities has to be being bad enough to get one of these potential superstars.
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There’s no guarantee that any of these three will be the next big thing in the NBA, but getting one puts the Bulls in fantastic shape to actually execute a 2018 plan.