The Sacramento Kings announced Thursday that Marvin Bagley III has been re-evaluated by a foot specialist who confirmed Bagley aggravated the midfoot sprain originally sustained in December. The team says Bagley will be re-evaluated in three weeks, essentially shutting down Bagley until the All Star break.

Bagley hurt his foot December 26th against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He missed 8 games before returning on January 13th. He played five games, and was playing pretty well, but left the January 20th game against the Miami Heat in the closing minutes complaining about his foot. The team originally said he had residual soreness from the previous injury, and Bagley missed four games before the team provided this update.

The whole situation is frustrating enough, with Bagley having played in just 13 games this season, but the lack of transparency from the Kings has added to fan frustration. We still don’t even know the specifics of the actual sprain. “Midfoot” is not a ligament. It’s a location. We don’t know the grade of the sprain. We still don’t know anything about Bagley’s actual injury other than a sprain. And the original story of “residual soreness” made no sense. I may not have the expertise to say that, but former Kings trainer Pete Youngman certainly does. Youngman took the team to task on Twitter before Thursday’s update.

Can someone please ask what the exact injuries are that Marvin and Richaun have? "Residual soreness" from a previous sprain & "an injury to the right shoulder joint" aren't very transparent and fans want to know. We used to have to be so specific we'd have folks running to WebMD! — Pete Youngman (@_petethetrainer) January 30, 2020

Last thought, you don't return 15 days after a foot sprain, practice (once or twice i hope), return to play 23, 30, 30 & 38 minutes and then develop "residual soreness" and miss 9 more days. It would happen in a practice or one of the first games upon return and resolve quickly — Pete Youngman (@_petethetrainer) January 30, 2020

So according to an expert in the field, the original diagnosis of “residual pain” doesn’t make sense to begin with. And even if it was residual pain, why did it take so long to have the foot looked at further? Vlade Divac spoke with Marcos Breton of the Bee on Monday of this week in a wide-ranging interview that is certainly worth your time. Breton asked about Bagley’s injury.

Is Bagley’s injury more serious than the team is letting on? “It’s a minor injury,” Divac said “He’s young and he’s learning how to play with the pain he has. It’s hard to jump and run when it bothers you and that’s his game....When I was 30 and finishing up my career, I could play on one leg.”

Again, this interview took place on Monday afternoon, January 27th. Bagley had re-injured his foot on January 20th. Why did the team wait a week before sending Bagley to have his foot looked at? The Kings were on the road at the time so maybe it was simply a matter of coming home first, or maybe the injury didn’t seem as serious as it turned out to be. Whatever the case, the communication on the injury made it seem like Bagley was dealing with a minor setback that would sideline him for only a few games.

Injuries have been a major issue for the Kings and especially for Marvin Bagley. If he sits out until the All-Star break, he will have missed half the season, with the possibility of more time after. Injuries are being used by the team as a major excuse for the team’s terrible season. It only seems fair that the Kings be more transparent with fans about those injuries.