Jones: How Bagley can help immediately
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Something that gets missed with Bagley sometimes is how quickly he makes decisions with the ball. Reminds me a little of Antwan Jamison in that regard. He makes his move and gets rid of the ball so quickly that the defense doesn't have time to respond. I remember in college they once timed how long Jamison touched the ball for the entire game. He scored around 30 pts and 10 rebounds and only touched the ball for about 3 mins. Bagley is obviously both bigger and more athletic and already a better ball handler than Jamison.
I don't know if anyone has pointed this out, but Duke's Kenpom rating was top ten in college basketball (6th if I remember correctly). For those who don't know what that is; it is their strength of schedule. They played one of the toughest schedules and he still put up 21 and 11 as a Freshman. That is almost unheard of.
If there's on thing I've learned about Summerleague throughout the years is you can't really use it to tell if a guy will be good, but you can definitely use it to tell if a guy isn't good. Jimmer, Trob, Papa G, McLemore all were bad at Summerleague and you could see their deficiencies. You can also kind of tell if a guy is "special", not so much by stats but just eye test. Demarcus had that pop and last year Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum did, as well as Kuzma.
In regards to the name of the thread, he immediately checks off the box for improved rebounding and playing with energy....looking at you WCS. I’m confidant that this coaching staff can help improve any defensive concerns and finally the hope is that he displays an ability at the pro level to drive the ball and hit mid range and eventually the 3.
This argument' about Bagley's so-called deficiencies in defensive instincts is meaningless. It's like saying Bagley is bad; why is he bad? Because he's bad, that's why, I've seen him play and he's bad and bad players don't normally become good even through instruction. 
Then again, how many 20-year-old out there are killing it in defense and still scoring the way Bagley did?
My understanding is he didn't play varsity as a sophomore in high school and since he reclassified that means he's only had two years at the highest level available to him. He apparently has a great work ethic and wants to be in Sacramento. He may not have been my choice but I'm gonna give him the requisite 3 years.
Where Bagley falls in terms of potential will come me down to the type of on ball player he becomes. Can shore up his handle on the open floor and be a grab and go player like a Lamar Odom? He shows flashes but we will see. Also his face up game will be key. If he can be like Bosh and face you up and hit a 20 footer he will have an easy gallop to the basket with his quickness and athleticism. If he hits his ceiling i can see him being kind of a hybrid of Blake Griffin, Lamar Odom and Chris Bosh. A litte from each of their games.
His jumpshot has been an interesting subject. I agree with you that he has a nice balance shooting stroke, thing is (at least just the college sample size), when he's open he can make the college 3, but as soon as there is some pressure on him, he missed them, and missing them wildly. Like not even hitting the rim wild.
