By Mardeio Cannon | OBSERVER Columnist
In this life, we all try to live without making mistakes. However, as most of you know, no matter how hard we try we all will make some.
In the world of professional sports, the general manager is charged with making some hard decisions that will determine the success or failure of the team.
The San Francisco 49ers’ General Manager John Lynch now has the distinction of making the worst draft day decision in NFL history in drafting Trey Lance, the freshman quarterback out of North Dakota State. What made this decision so egregious was the fact that Lynch gave up three first-round draft picks to move up several spots to select Lance with the third pick of the 2021 NFL draft.
To compound this mistake, the San Francisco 49ers gave up on Lance last week by trading him to the hated Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft. If Lance finally gets to display his talents and becomes a successful NFL quarterback for the Cowboys or another NFL team, the Trey Lance saga with the 49ers will always go down as one of the biggest mistakes in sports history.
Now, I have another mistake for you to consider.
The Sacramento Kings got extremely lucky in the 2018 NBA draft lottery and had the second pick in the NBA draft. Everyone assumed that Kings General Manager Vlade Divac would draft Luka Doncic who was acknowledged as the best player available based on his performance in the European professional basketball league.
Not only was Doncic available, but Divac could also have selected University of Oklahoma All-America guard Trae Young, who has played in two NBA All-Star games and is the face of the franchise for the Atlanta Hawks.
He also could have selected Jaren Jackson Jr., the 6’11” star out of Georgetown University. Jackson has become an NBA All-Star with the Memphis Grizzlies and was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the year last season. However, we know, Divac selected Marvin Bagley III out of Duke University. Bagley got off to a slow start with the Kings when the head coach kept him on the bench for much of his rookie season. When he finally did get playing time, nagging injuries kept him in street clothes rather than on the court.
Bagley was finally traded to the Detroit Pistons, where he still can’t crack their starting lineup.
So, the question is which mistake will have the most long-term consequences for the San Francisco 49ers or the Sacramento Kings.
No matter your vote, these mistakes will surely haunt these two franchises for years to come.
