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We often think of Franz as the Robin to Paolo's Batman but is the difference between them much closer than we think? Paolo's true shooting was under the league average at .529 albeit he was doing so while being the lead offensive option on an NBA team as a rookie with a usage rate above 27%.

Franz' true shooting % is above the league average at .589 with a 23.5% usage rate. We often compare Franz to Gordon Hayward, but Hayward's sophomore usage rate was 17.8 with a ts% of 56.8%. Franz' trajectory seems higher than Hayward's, and possibly much higher.

Franz is also taller and more athletic than Hayward at 6'10.

Are we underrating him because he wasn't even our highest pick in the 2021 draft? Are critics and teams ignoring the facts when it comes Franz because we drafted him at a higher pick han many mock drafts had him and because people are just not accustomed to seeing a 6'10 220 European guy handle, shoot and eurostep like he does in his second year?

I think it's possible we may have not seen the best of Franz at all.

Some do. I don’t. Franz appears to be a great Robin to Paolo’s Batman…. But he absolutely has a shot to develop into a 1A guy. I just think Paolo has a better shot of developing into ‘that’ guy but it is in the realm of possibilities for Franz to end up being ‘the’ guy.

The great news is that we have 2 guys that could develop into what we need… and if they both develop into ‘that’ guy, we’ll be unstoppable.

As you said, comparing Paolo & Franz isn't fair considering Paolo was a 1st option & a rookie & Franz is a soph.

The reason we expect Paolo to be the 1st option is his offensive bag is ridiculously deep, his ability to draw FT's is elite, his athleticism is amazing, particularly for a player who's 6'10.5 & 250 lbs (great size), and his great passing ability. This all gives him a seperation when thinking of potential

Paolo is practically a 3 pt shot away from being a player who can score 30+ ppg in multiple seasons. Which only 19 players have done in NBA history.

That's not to say Franz isn't great, he'll definitely be better than Hayward in his prime by virtue of just his defense alone. I'm not sure Franz can carry the entire weight of the offense of a contender in his prime, and Paolo just seems better suited for it.

I think Franz can be a great 2nd option in his prime as long as he works on his rebounding, and continue building on his shooting, particularly middies & a higher release point, particularly on step backs.

ogmagicfan wrote:As you said, comparing Paolo & Franz isn't fair considering Paolo was a 1st option & a rookie & Franz is a soph.

The reason we expect Paolo to be the 1st option is his offensive bag is ridiculously deep, his ability to draw FT's is elite, his athleticism is amazing, particularly for a player who's 6'10.5 & 250 lbs (great size), and his great passing ability. This all gives him a seperation when thinking of potential

Paolo is practically a 3 pt shot away from being a player who can score 30+ ppg in multiple seasons. Which only 19 players have done in NBA history.

That's not to say Franz isn't great, he'll definitely be better than Hayward in his prime by virtue of just his defense alone. I'm not sure Franz can carry the entire weight of the offense of a contender in his prime, and Paolo just seems better suited for it.

I think Franz can be a great 2nd option in his prime as long as he works on his rebounding, and continue building on his shooting, particularly middies & a higher release point, particularly on step backs.

If Banchero is this generation's Chris Webber, the analogy is that F-Wagner could be a Peja Stojaković. Man I hope that pans out, as the Kings thrived with Webber and Stojaković.

I really do see Franz as a super-Hedo…but, I’d be thrilled if he is the tournament MVP and leading scorer. There’s lots of nights when Jaylen Brown outperforms Tatum, despite the “clear” hierarchy…that’s why BOS is always in contention.

The-Stallion70 wrote:We often think of Franz as the Robin to Paolo's Batman but is the difference between them much closer than we think? Paolo's true shooting was under the league average at .529 albeit he was doing so while being the lead offensive option on an NBA team as a rookie with a usage rate above 27%.

Franz' true shooting % is above the league average at .589 with a 23.5% usage rate. We often compare Franz to Gordon Hayward, but Hayward's sophomore usage rate was 17.8 with a ts% of 56.8%. Franz' trajectory seems higher than Hayward's, and possibly much higher.

Franz is also taller and more athletic than Hayward at 6'10.

Are we underrating him because he wasn't even our highest pick in the 2021 draft? Are critics and teams ignoring the facts when it comes Franz because we drafted him at a higher pick han many mock drafts had him and because people are just not accustomed to seeing a 6'10 220 European guy handle, shoot and eurostep like he does in his second year?

I think it's possible we may have not seen the best of Franz at all.

no meaning to be rude, but dude turns 22 in 2 weeks. of course we havent seen the best of Franz, he is still developing (and apparently growing).

I don't think we are underrating him. All of us here have seen him plenty and many feel he is a future star. Great size, impressive skillset, and desire to win. Great combo.

Best player on the Magic IMO. Not sure who is underrating him.

MagicMatic wrote:Best player on the Magic IMO. Not sure who is underrating him.

Right now this is 100% accurate. Franz is the best player on the team and it's not even close.

Paolo's ceiling is arguably a bit higher just because he has more natural scoring instincts, but Franz is probably a top 30 NBA player already and should make multiple all-star teams.

Overrated.

I don't think our fan base on real gm underrated him but I think everyone else does. Even people in orlando who aren't necessarily magic fans don't understand how impressive he has been so far.

I think Franz was the best player from his draft class. He has a ton of potential.

However, he is the worse rebounder for his height in the NBA. Numero Last.

That has to improve.

I don't care who's Batman or who's Robin, I just hope those 2 like each other, trust each other, and get along so they can grow alongside one another. I don't want to see a scenario where someone wants to be the "guy" and they split up in order to prove they can do it alone. I want them to lead us together for the next decade, minimum...

By the way, Franz is the better player.. right now

I too think Franz RIGHT NOW is better than Paolo. Sure, projections say Paolo has a higher floor.

However, despite that, RIGHT NOW Paolo can command double teams from defenses while Franz does not?

I agree, the narrative on Franz is just not like Paolo. There are several reasons, one being that Paolo was the NO.1 pick and won Rookie of the Year. I think Franz was way under-rated even before he came to the league. To me, he is clearly the star of Orlando Magic but is he the NO.1 option, I don't know, however, he is still the best player on the team with Paolo.

I think Franz's career is going to prove a lot of people wrong. Right now, he is just not there yet, because Orlando Magic is not a playoff team winning meaningful games in late March and April. Once we have a place as a winning team, his stock will rise, for sure

I think his ball handling leaves a lot to be desired. But he does have to become a better post up player, midrange jumpshoter, and more consistency at the 3 point shot.

I still don't believe he's better than Paolo. Paolo was consistently hit with more double teams since December of his rookie season and teams opted to guard Franz with just one defender all of the time. I don't see the logic of that opinion if Franz doesn't draw the same defensive attention.

Ironically, the same things we hear about Franz now are the same things we heard about Paolo prior to the draft - all speculation about the height of "ceiling". Paolo was "high floor...NBA ready...lower ceiling". Franz (who was basically an afterthought before draft) is now widely viewed as close to or at his ceiling. It's nonsense gibberish. Even if it proves true, it's not a valid opinion to hold on a first and second year player.

Audi wrote:Ironically, the same things we hear about Franz now are the same things we heard about Paolo prior to the draft - all speculation about the height of "ceiling". Paolo was "high floor...NBA ready...lower ceiling". Franz (who was basically an afterthought before draft) is now widely viewed as close to or at his ceiling. It's nonsense gibberish. Even if it proves true, it's not a valid opinion to hold on a first and second year player.

And-1

Look: if F-Wagner is actually at his ceiling, a PER=16 player putting up 19/4/4 numbers is a marginal allstar. But F-Wagner clear was better in the second half of 2022/23 than the first, and he should be an even more efficient shooter who should have an even better assist/TO stat line.

Right now F-Wagner's ceiling is "marginal Hall of Famer". I am ok with that. His floor, if healthy his whole career, is "two time Allstar".

Knightro wrote:

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Excluding guards is silly since no "not guard"data is used ( and ofc, by default list because more exlusive than it is, if you know Maxey, Haliburton, Garland all achived this two years ago).
And list , for whatever reason also forgot Lauri and Towns.

But i saw other team's muse and those agenda driven stat manipulations so they all do that