As deadline looms, Bagley shares thoughts on contract extension

The fate of a family and the future of a franchise were inextricably linked the moment commissioner Adam Silver announced the Kings had selected Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Bagley pumped a fist and pointed to the heavens. He hugged his parents, shook hands with his brothers and donned a Kings cap while making his way to the stage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He wasn’t Luka Doncic, the player so many Kings fans coveted, but Sacramento still thought Bagley was going to be special.

Three years later, with Bagley entering the final year of his rookie contract, there are still questions about the player’s fate and the franchise’s future. Bagley is still relatively unproven. The Kings are still caught in the clutches of a 15-year playoff drought. Both sides are coming to a crossroads, wondering where they go from here as the deadline nears for Bagley’s rookie-scale extension.

If they don’t agree to a deal by Oct. 18 — the day before the start of the 2021-22 NBA season — Bagley will become a restricted free agent next summer. Do the Kings want to make a long-term commitment to a player who has been plagued by injuries, slowing his development, frustrating fans and subjecting all parties to searing criticism? Does Bagley want to get a deal done now after everything he’s been through?

“Right now, I’m not worried about none of that,” Bagley told The Sacramento Bee. “The biggest thing for me is coming in every day, just focusing on the big goal of making the playoffs and just continuing to build winning