The Official Franz Wagner Thread

[basketballRob]

We may have gave him a promise at 8. As far as I know he didn't workout for any teams ahead of us. He worked out with New Orleans and maybe Sacramento. He worked out with them maybe for appearance sake.

I agree with the post earlier that we may have been targeting him with the Bulls pick since last season when we signed Mo Wagner.

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[Knightro]

I am starting to believe they had Wagner 4th or 5th on their board.

I don’t know about 4th, but it stands to reason they had him 6th behind the players who went 1-5.

[jonbob17]

I am starting to believe they had Wagner 4th or 5th on their board.

I don’t know about 4th, but it stands to reason they had him 6th behind the players who went 1-5.

You sure Barnes was ahead of him? Others have brought up that someone made Wagner a promise and that it was the Magic. You think we take Barnes and Wagner? I don't know. And if you do make a promise this front office isn't going to renege on it.

It seemed to me like they were very excited with the pick, maybe they thought they were taking him earlier and relieved he was still there at 8.


I don't know where this front office was on everybody, but i could see them not being in favor of the top 4 in that order. Green is the one I think they would have had lowest. That is just amusing speculation, very likely the top 4 could have been in line with the masses.

[[whistler]]

I think there was a possibility that if Suggs went 4th, the Magic take Wagner 5th and one of Kuminga, Bouknight, Ziaire 8th.

[KillMonger]

I think there was a possibility that if Suggs went 4th, the Magic take Wagner 5th and one of Kuminga, Bouknight, Ziaire 8th.

this sounds very plausible

[pepe1991]

I think there was a possibility that if Suggs went 4th, the Magic take Wagner 5th and one of Kuminga, Bouknight, Ziaire 8th.

That would simply be poor drafting and decision making. If you are going to take player who nobody else really will take that high, you have to trade down. Especially knowing almost everybody wanted to trade up. So you could trade 5th pick and asset for let's say 9th pick from Kings and scoop some asset as well.

[nymets1]

trust the fornt office...well maybe you are onto something here.
me
I simply dont trust this front office at all
I woudnt trust them to walk my dog out
and now we hear they wanted to pick Wagner at 5 if Suggs woudnt be there...oh boy...
really they should build Masai a shrine for gifting them Suggs and avoid a total humiliation

Imo Wagner will end up being solid rotational player....that doesnt do it for me though...

but
best of luck to him

If they took Wagner at 5 the Magic maybe would have taken Bouknight who they know would have been there at 8. I strongly doubt it would have been Bouknight, but if they were taking Wagner at 5 they must have had a pretty good idea of who they were taking at 8.

I am starting to believe they had Wagner 4th or 5th on their board.

No, If Suggs went 4th to the Raptors, We would have taken Barnes at 5 and probably Bouknight or moody at 8.

[Horcy]

sure people can say and compare to whoever they want

Next poster can say Franz is comparable to MJ.
My comparision to Batum was based on draftkings review that doesnt make it true or accurate but at least its based on something rather then throwing in a random name.
Most fans hated the pick when it happened but started to convince themselves it was a great pick
since theres nothing anybody can do
You like the pick great kudos for you...
You didnt like the pick but you are warming up to it...great kudos for you
me personally
I cant change my opinions so easly like most of you do ..if I take a stance it very hard to change my mind.
Im not allowed to have a different opinion or what?

Many of those fans who "didn't like the pick at the beginning" haven't even seen a single play of Wagner.
Mike Schmitz of ESPN who knows every single basketball player in the world, had Wagner at 8th spot on his Mock draft.
His opinion does worth more than the opinion of millions of fans who repeat what they read on websites.
Period.

This opinion of Mike Schmitz that you’re repeating…which website is your source?

HERE

Watch on YouTube

Minute 2:09: "Don't sleep on Franz Wagner, I got him at number 8th. I think he's going to be a starter in the NBA for a long time "

Do you like the pick now?

[RookieStar]

To those who doesn't know much avout MICH bball... let's just say I personally came for Hunter Dickinson but I stayed for Franz Wagner.

[Message Boar]

Also, I read this blurb on the free part of espn from Jonathan Givony; formerly the guy behind draftexpress, probably one of the sources I trust most on anything draft-related:

"What lottery pick fit do you immediately like?

I love that Orlando took advantage of Jalen Suggs' surprising slide, but in getting Franz Wagner, the Magic have two of the best defenders in this draft. Wagner can make teammates better without needing the ball or requiring plays to be called for him. He's a high-level off-ball defender blessed with elite instincts in protecting the rim, closing out on shooters or digging down on the post and mucking up opposing offenses. There's a simplicity to his game on both ends of the floor, as he keeps the offense flowing with intelligent touch passes, bounce passes to the post, or by pushing ahead in transition off the defensive glass. With Wagner and Jonathan Isaac as the forwards, along with Suggs and Markelle Fultz in the backcourt, the Magic could have one of the better defensive units in the NBA."

About the Franz at 5 talk, let's just say that Lying Season doesn't end with the draft. The teams' post-draft press-conferences are very much included, and teams will definitely lie to the media to show love to their draftee.

[jezzerinho]

Whatever about what people think of Wagner's skillsets or potential ceiling (which i happen to think is pretty decent), I'm confused about one point...

The same guys are wondering where the veteran presence is to fit around the young developing stars, who we can sign to guide our core so they don't all turn into me-first chuckers and selfish players. That's what seemed to happen in Dipos time and it's natural to not want to repeat it.

But what if your wise heads are not actually multi-year vets and instead are old heads on young shoulders? That way you would get to blood more youth and develop their talent.

Pick a Kuminga and you may not get to give him or some other young guy the minutes, as you will need a vet on the floor to shepherd the sheep.
Pick an inefficient shooter like Bouknight and somebody will need to moderate his tendencies or he'll lose minutes to a more Mosley-centric player.

But pick a sheepdog instead of a sheep, like Wagner and Suggs, and suddenly more young players get more minutes. I see it as a win-win.

[basketballRob]

Also, I read this blurb on the free part of espn from Jonathan Givony; formerly the guy behind draftexpress, probably one of the sources I trust most on anything draft-related:

"What lottery pick fit do you immediately like?

I love that Orlando took advantage of Jalen Suggs' surprising slide, but in getting Franz Wagner, the Magic have two of the best defenders in this draft. Wagner can make teammates better without needing the ball or requiring plays to be called for him. He's a high-level off-ball defender blessed with elite instincts in protecting the rim, closing out on shooters or digging down on the post and mucking up opposing offenses. There's a simplicity to his game on both ends of the floor, as he keeps the offense flowing with intelligent touch passes, bounce passes to the post, or by pushing ahead in transition off the defensive glass. With Wagner and Jonathan Isaac as the forwards, along with Suggs and Markelle Fultz in the backcourt, the Magic could have one of the better defensive units in the NBA."

About the Franz at 5 talk, let's just say that Lying Season doesn't end with the draft. The teams' post-draft press-conferences are very much included, and teams will definitely lie to the media to show love to their draftee.

I might have Magic colored glasses on, but I think we might even be better than the Vuc team.

Adding Franz, Suggs, and Isaac, we're going to be better defensively.

Franz and Suggs play winning ball. They do things that don't show up on the stat sheet, like throwing the ball down court. That's one of the most unselfish plays in basketball. I think this has been a big reason our offense has been bad for the last decade. If you just hand the ball to a guard after a rebound and run down the court to guarantee you'll be apart of the offensive play, that's selfish.

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[Skybox]

His opinion does worth more than the opinion of millions of fans who repeat what they read on websites.
Period.

I loved the pick from 5 min before it was made...and, Mike Schmitz is the best, IMO...but you missed my point...

you're no different from anybody else just repeating what you read on a website...like all of us.

[Skybox]

Whatever about what people think of Wagner's skillsets or potential ceiling (which i happen to think is pretty decent), I'm confused about one point...

The same guys are wondering where the veteran presence is to fit around the young developing stars, who we can sign to guide our core so they don't all turn into me-first chuckers and selfish players. That's what seemed to happen in Dipos time and it's natural to not want to repeat it.

But what if your wise heads are not actually multi-year vets and instead are old heads on young shoulders? That way you would get to blood more youth and develop their talent.

Pick a Kuminga and you may not get to give him or some other young guy the minutes, as you will need a vet on the floor to shepherd the sheep.
Pick an inefficient shooter like Bouknight and somebody will need to moderate his tendencies or he'll lose minutes to a more Mosley-centric player.

But pick a sheepdog instead of a sheep, like Wagner and Suggs, and suddenly more young players get more minutes. I see it as a win-win.

This is exactly as I see it...I could see Suggs being the "veteran leader" of this team in his first season. The Magic aced this draft, IMO, because they drafted (arguably) BPA AND fit at the same time with both picks...I understand there was some luck involved with Suggs dropping, but these two and Mosley just seem like an ideal package to vault this team forward together.

[Horcy]

I loved the pick from 5 min before it was made...and, Mike Schmitz is the best, IMO...but you missed my point...

you're no different from anybody else just repeating what you read on a website...like all of us.

You may be right but the point is that for the ones who live in the U.S it's much easier to at least watch college games, judge players by actually watching them perform.
For the ones who live in Europe as I do (there is an eight-hour time difference between Europe and the East of the U.S right now) it's impossible to watch them play. Maybe only through some youtube highlights. The last playoffs games started at 2/3 am here.
If I was there I would definitely try to watch as many games as I can.

[jonbob17]

I might have Magic colored glasses on, but I think we might even be better than the Vuc team.

Adding Franz, Suggs, and Isaac, we're going to be better defensively.

Franz and Suggs play winning ball. They do things that don't show up on the stat sheet, like throwing the ball down court. That's one of the most unselfish plays in basketball. I think this has been a big reason our offense has been bad for the last decade. If you just hand the ball to a guard after a rebound and run down the court to guarantee you'll be apart of the offensive play, that's selfish.

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I like where you are going, but overall young guys just make too many mistakes. I think this team 2 years from now will be ahead of the 2020 team. I look forward to this season, and I think it will be the most fun season in a decade. There should be a ton of highlights both on defense and offensive side. BUT we will have 5 rotation guys in their first or second year, and Bamba and WCJ acting as the back stop. Fultz still hasn't shown consistency on the defensive (or offense) side. We are going to give up points.

My optimistic side is saying we will be battling for the playoffs in 22-23. We should be really deep by then, and if just one guy gets a lot better, we should have the talent.

[drsd]

The teams' post-draft press-conferences are very much included, and teams will definitely lie to the media to show love to their draftee.

When Jameer Nelson was drafted, Orlando stated he was #2 on the draft board only behind Howard.
(to be fair, Nelson was the 7th best player in his draft class and the #2 PG, historically).

[Knightro]

No, If Suggs went 4th to the Raptors, We would have taken Barnes at 5 and probably Bouknight or moody at 8.

I am 100% in agreement on the Barnes part. Had Suggs gone 4th, I think they would have taken Barnes at 5.

The real question is, would they have doubled down and taken another forward with a similar skill set?

[jezzerinho]

I will be very upset if the PA doesn't play Ride of the Valkyries when Franz drops a 3.

[tiderulz]

No, If Suggs went 4th to the Raptors, We would have taken Barnes at 5 and probably Bouknight or moody at 8.

I am 100% in agreement on the Barnes part. Had Suggs gone 4th, I think they would have taken Barnes at 5.

The real question is, would they have doubled down and taken another forward with a similar skill set?

if they were locked into Wagner already, why would they take Barnes who duplicates what Wagner brings? I think they would have gone Kuminga instead of Barnes