Marvin Bagley III doesn't want to hear Deandre Ayton boasting that he will be the No. 1 pick in the June 21 NBA draft, because Bagley believes he'll be.
"It's disrespectful and I use it as drive every single day," Bagley said, according to Bob Baum of the Associated Press. "At the end of the day, this is all talk right now. Eventually we'll have to go on the court and we'll have to play. That's where all the talking ends."
Ayton opined this week that "I know I'm going No. 1," which means the Arizona product would be moving up the I-10 to the Phoenix Suns, who have the first pick. That doesn't appear to have sat well with Bagley, who grew up in the Phoenix area.
"I definitely believe I'm the No. 1 pick," Bagley said, "If the Suns take me I'll definitely show them why ... Deandre, he's going to do what he's going to do. That's his plan."
Bagley has moved up to No. 2 in most mock drafts behind Ayton, but has been a consensus top-5 player for months. Concerns center around his defensive instincts, but he's expected to be a dominant scoring power forward at the NBA level. He said he'll work out for the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, the teams with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks.
