In the Raptors' last game on December 26, they went up against the Washington Wizards, who hold one of the worst records league-wide at 6-23. Even though Toronto has been going through quite the rough patch lately, their struggles persisted into this Boxing Day affair, where they completely faltered against Washington, thanks to some great performances from Kyshawn George, wily veteran CJ McCollum, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, as well as efficient showings from youngsters Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington.
On a night when the Raptors couldn't get much out of their bench aside from Ja'Kobe Walter's solid production, the Wizards had a deep arsenal of players who suited up and contributed as needed. One of those guys, though not exactly a stand-out enough to warrant an earlier mention, was Marvin Bagley III. Bagley played 21:36 minutes, during which he scored six points on 3-for-4 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists, and recorded one block.
Now, you're probably wondering where Bagley fits into the Raptors' plans, aside from being a foe in this recent matchup. Well, amid Toronto's desperate search for big men, the name Marvin Bagley III has been mentioned as another potential option for the Raptors to consider.
Former No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley III surfaces as a Raptors trade possibility
Per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints in a December 23 X post: "Assuming the Raptors don't look to make a huge move involving Quickley or Barrett, they will be thinking small contracts with Agbaji's expiring deal.
You have the Nick Richards option, and I would keep an eye on someone like Marvin Bagley III. TOR wants to get below the tax."
Of course, Bagley's NBA career hasn't quite panned out the way he’d hoped. After entering the league as a top prospect in the 2018 NBA Draft and being selected 2nd overall by the Kings — ahead of eventual megastar Luka Doncic — he had an underwhelming stint in SacTown. While he certainly put up numbers, he failed to live up to the lofty expectations of a top-two pick. Since then, he has bounced around the league with spells in Detroit, Memphis, and a second stint with the Wizards after signing a minimum contract with them this past July.
He is still just 26 years old, but at this point in his NBA journey, what you see is basically what you get with Marvin Bagley III. He's not really a traditional NBA center, more of a tweener role of power forward/occasional five-man, like Sandro Mamukelashvili. However, Bagley certainly doesn't have the superb three-point shooting that Mamu possesses. He does have some athleticism, scoring, and rebounding prowess on his side — career averages of 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds — but Bagley can be very inconsistent as well. This inconsistency has largely been a detriment to his NBA career and explains why he's been limited to smaller roles.
He wouldn't solve the Raptors' dire need for a bull-strong big, but he's a 'big' nonetheless. As Siegel mentioned, if Toronto wants to save more money — considering Bagley at $2.2 million versus Nick Richards at $5.0 million — then Bagley can definitely be worth considering. Additionally, if the Wizards and Raptors can somehow agree to simply swap Bagley's expiring deal for the struggling Ochai Agbaji, or include some cash considerations, or perhaps Toronto works some Kings-esque trade magic — fleecing an extra draft pick or acquiring an additional player — I can understand the logic, even if it's just a very lateral move.