Mo Wagner selected with 25th pick

[AGAVE]

For whatever it's worth, I guess Wagner ranked top 20 nationally in defensive win shares.

guess we shall see how this translates to his NBA experience

[BEazy]

Now that I've seen highlights of him he kind of reminds me of Rasheed Wallace. With the rainbow arc and shot. His body type is similar to Rasheed as well.

[Slava]

We're loading up on guys who can hit the open 3. Sounds like a team to build around superstars.

[Vae Victus]

That kind of mentality reminds me of when we were building around Shaq and Kobe.

We got alot low ceiling and ended up busting talent. Then we proceeded to overpay some of em to decent money stupidly for no good reason (Slava, DGeorge, Luke, Cook, etc).

Hopefully with the new scouting department we can continue to hit on our late picks that keeps the cheap useful talent pipeline flowing. It's the only real way to get ahead short of getting lucky on high picks and luring max FAs, to get better.

[Danny Darko]

Now that I've watched a lot of highlight reels it's interesting to me that he has a unique go to move- the mid key behind the back dribble with a change of direction.

I like this scouting report:

Watch on YouTube

[ISayshowmee]

Wagner's shots are soft.....gets a great release of the ball with his fingers. Nice footwork for a big guy. Lots of upside specially when he can get a stronger body.

[dockingsched]

His offensive skill is pretty damn impressive

[Spens1]

I like Wagner but we had no business skipping on Robert Williams, that was a gift for the taking for us (especially since our defense in the paint is horrid) and we take Wagner, as good as he is offensively, he is

a) pretty slow in transition
b) limited defensively

I really like him but i think it was a mistake to take him over some of the guys we passed over (Williams, Robinson, Thomas etc).

[LakersSoul]

Definitely a pick out of nowhere even though some mocks had Wagner moving higher into the late 1st round.
After the initial shock of the pick wore off, as I was hoping for the BPA (Robinson or Williams), I reviewed his
highlights and was pleasantly surprised at his skillset.

Efficient scorer from 3 (some long bombs too)
Efficient scorer from the paint (all sorts of inside moves)
Sets solid screens and pops well
Great nifty footwork
crafty use of both hands and the rim to shield himself
Great handles and attacking drives for a 7 footer (Love those behind the back drives!!)

MoWag made great improvement over the last year on defensive rebounding and defense.
Def rebounding improved by almost 3 per game.
DRating went from 101.6 to 92.3
DWS doubled from 1.3 to 2.6 for the NCAAs

I dont know too much about his passing and was initially worried about his defense but he looks to have
improved at both these areas especially the defense. What I love most to hear about is his high motor, BBIQ
and MoWag's galvinizing energy and leadership. Magic and Pelinka might have found themselves another keeper here!!

Watch on YouTube

[Saru]

Surprised with this pick but could be another gem. Dirk 2.0 if he reaches his full potential.

[Lost Angel]

smart players who can shoot have a place in this league.

surprised we didnt go for Robert Williams.

[Dloading99]

Very simple this was a great pick a home run.

I might have posted something about Wagner in the draft post. had no idea we would get him.

Now let me give you the real scouting report.

This is a better pick in my opinion then Lonzo Ball.

Why? he's a Dirk Dirk Nowitzki kind of skillset. Big 6-11 Big can shoot the three space the floor. Pick and Pop. Can you I repeat can you imagine the spacing on the floor with him and Thomas Bryant at the same time.

Surprisingly all these guys in the NBA talk about the Warriors and shooting three's and spacing and the new Big Man and the Lakers seem to be the only team wanting to do that.


Lets' look at some facts After Ayton Yeah I'm saying this in this draft I'd rather have this guy then Marvin Bagley why? the Range.


He has beautiful moves around the Rim. he has great footwork will throw it down on you. Makes Free Throws. So with this guy you can run pick and Roll.


And this is a player for Lebron James. I keep telling yall we are getting Lebron and we are making picks for him. this is the kind of player he likes to play with a kevin Love stretch type of power forward that can get to three space pick and pop and shoot that ball.


he's our Kevin Love is he 6-9 nope 6-11.


So let's look at some Comps. Dirk Yes I see that with his range his shot ability. Porzingis Spencer Hawes Memet Okur


He's got a great face up game. Put it like this when he's on the floor you have to worry about him cause he can stand there and shoot threes. what I like about Wagner is he can post up. he can get in that post like Gasol. great hands for a big soft hands will be able to get the ball in the post and score up and under moves. touch around the rim what you want out of a big.

He was one of my highest rated players in this draft. Built based on Skillset I had Porter Ayton Doncic Young and Wagner as guys who could score and get you a bucket when you want that bucket. he fits the trait. he's dependable on the block and he's a beast.

He has some Dog to him.


Great Pick Clearly a Rob Pelinka pick as Rob knew this guy from Michigan him being a Wolverine.


Now let me do what I do. Look at our spacing we are a beast matchup for teams. talking about spacing we can go with

Pg Ball Sg Ingram Sf Kuzma PfWagner CBryant when we get our Stars Pg Lonzo Sg George Sf Ingram Pf Lebron C Wagner sometimes switch with Kuzma CWagner sometimes lineups of Pg Ingram Sg George Sf James Pf Kuzma C Wagner. great lineups great team. great scoring Laker Championship team.

[Spens1]

I see him at centre to be honest. I think he's a decent replacement for Channing Frye myself.

[Dloading99]

Spens those guys you mention Mitchell robinson

those guys all good. but nowhere near Mo Wagner with his ability as a scorer those guys are all defensive guys athletic they are a dime a dozen. and you can always find a guy to protect the rim. you cant always find bigs who are skilled like this and can shoot it like this guy can. he's a beast.

[Spens1]

Spens those guys you mention Mitchell robinson

those guys all good. but nowhere near Mo Wagner with his ability as a scorer those guys are all defensive guys athletic they are a dime a dozen. and you can always find a guy to protect the rim. you cant always find bigs who are skilled like this and can shoot it like this guy can. he's a beast.

on the cheap and locked in. Mitch Rob in the 2nd (i.e. 39 + cash for 36) would have been a very logical choice if we're skipping Robert Williams (who i thought was going mid first).

Robert Williams would have been perfect for us running the floor but i get the logic behind this pick (the logic behind Bonga though, i cannot see it).

[TKainZero]

He can shoot
We can be mad about who we didn’t get, or we can get excited for Wagner

[LeCalinou]

Wagner will be a stretch 5 with us... He can hit 3’s, rebound and has a high basketball IQ... Decent passer too... He will be in the NBA for 10 years... Safe pick...

The Lakers were in a position where they looked at FIT:
- with current roster
- with possible FA additions
If we were to just the 5 core-guys that are on rookie contracts (Ball, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma, Randle), their production (potential is another question altogether) would be maximized with shooters at key positions: SG (given Ball's inconsistency) and C (Randle is not a natural C).
With Mikhailjuk and Moritz you get a more versatile roster and more possible combinations. Bonga is a different case... I'll have to trust Magic in seeing something in him that could develop down the road.

Player comparisons for the 3 (in terms of ceiling):
- Moritz : Channing Frye with a bit more mobility and ball-handling
- Mikhailjuk: Kyle Korver
- Bonga: Kyle Anderson or Lamar Odom "lite"

I'm not betting on the draftees to become anything but average players, but high-value contributors.

[Slava]

I liked the Memo Okur comp by Chauncey Billups.

[Texas_Lakers]

I like this pick. Rob,Magic and the scouts are doing a really magnificent job at building this team from the ground up. I like the direction we are taking, stars coming or not.

[tlifeset]

Do you know how many NCAA players have put up a 20-15 game in the NCAA Finals?

Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon and Mo Wagner.

With that in mind, this pick feels very Draymond Green-ish to me. Draymond was an unheralded player from a big time program who's game always shined when the lights were the brightest. He was one of only a handful of players to put up multiple triple double tournament games (I think the others may have been Oscar Robertson, Magic and Jordan?). But when it came time for the draft... the scouts picked him apart: too small, too much attitude, positionless, slow, etc.

You can see how Wagner's plight is very similar. He has done nothing but been great in the moments he's needed to be great. He went against bonafide NBA talent and always showed up, always found a way. And he plays with a fire and intensity that can't be questioned. When his entire team fell apart in the NCAA championship game, he kept coming and coming and coming.

Sometimes you have to look past the scouting reports and trust your eyes. There are intangibles that all the testing in the world can't uncover. It's a mix of art and science.

Could they have probably traded back and gotten him later on? Sure. But if you know this is your guy then you take him where you need to take him. It doesn't matter if someone else slipped in the draft, you stick to your guns. That's what the great GMs have always done - form a smart strategy and stick to it.