Franz Wagner, Michigan

[Mike lorenzo]

Super high on this guy.

He’s top 5 on my mockboard.

1- Green
2- Cade
3- Kuminga
4-Suggs
5- Wagner

He’s not yet a good scorer but I can see him being one down the road.

He does it all.

Defense, rebounds, post up, run pick and roll and even catch and shoot.

a project by G.Hayward or Joe Ingles .. ??

[Big J]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

[mademan]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

Honestly gotta go all the way back to Kirilenko. Wagner's got the measurements for it. Long/lanky athletic 6'9 SF

[Big J]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

Honestly gotta go all the way back to Kirilenko. Wagner's got the measurements for it. Long/lanky athletic 6'9 SF

Kirilenko was a pretty awesome team defender, so is Rubio. I distinctly remember Kirilenko getting roasted by Kobe after he was getting a bunch of defensive stopper buzz though. Same thing happened when Rubio tried stopping CP3.

[WargamesX]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

Honestly gotta go all the way back to Kirilenko. Wagner's got the measurements for it. Long/lanky athletic 6'9 SF

Kirilenko was a pretty awesome team defender, so is Rubio. I distinctly remember Kirilenko getting roasted by Kobe after he was getting a bunch of defensive stopper buzz though. Same thing happened when Rubio tried stopping CP3.

I don’t think Franz will be lock down level defender but he’ll be good.

[RookieStar]

Any buzz on him? His brother is making a lot of noise for his Olympic team while he, the supposed more talented one,is nada..

[DCasey91]

AK 47 had an outrageous wingspan like one out of the most box. One of the most unique players in NBA history.

Goddamn AK 47 today would be such a sweet add to a championship roster (basically any point in time lol).

[nolang1]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

When's the last time we've had a lockdown perimeter defender of any skin color? The offense is simply ahead of the defense at this point with how skilled players are and how the game's officiated, so if it's a knock that Wagner is more of a team defender than an individual lockdown guy, that's fine because that's proven to be the most impactful type of defense.

It's weird to me because I've been on the Scottie Barnes train for so long (I remember seeing a Youtube clip of him in like middle school) to see that there's such a perceived gap between them now. Wagner is even younger than Barnes and if you're going to break them down in every facet of the game, Wagner just has a sizable leg up in the single most important area. I can see the argument that if you're confident Barnes is going to be passable as a shooter and think Wagner isn't going to be much better, Barnes has more room to improve and it will open up his passing ability even more, but it seems like Wagner's last game where he shot poorly is playing into the evaluation of him when ironically, he played that last game as a direct result of his team beating Florida State in a game where he played better than Barnes.

[clyde21]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

guess that depends on your definition of 'lockdown'...tho not really sure anyone called Franz a lockdown perimeter guy, but he does display + defensive IQ and a good enough mobility+size combo to at the very least be average on that end at some point.

this guy is getting thoroughly underrated at this point, not sure why, not sure how often you see 6-9 combo forwards that can legitimately score on 3 levels, pass the ball like Wagner, not be defensively liabilities, hit FTs at 80+% clips AND all while being under 20.

he's a perfect fit in today's NBA with a clear path to success while having a lot of the skills/tools teams covet (or should covet)...dunno, maybe because his big bro hasn't been good in the NBA or the last game in the tourney left a sour taste in people's mouth but if this guy drops out of the top10 he should be considered a steal.

[DCasey91]

Meh offense is well overrated to me individually if you’re not the premium offensive hub. I’ll stick to the tried and true method of top ten offense and defense.

Jokic needs an auto rim protector aka Myles Turner then the chip equity goes through the roof. The series was funny as because it was traffic cones out there even with all the rules allowing for offense.

The two teams left are supremely balanced both ways. Two way players galore.

The Blazers and Jazz teams of the world get found out time and time again. You’d think clubs would learn.

GSW for their all conquering offense had top tier wing defense as a unit. Green, Iggy, Thompson, Durant my god that’s a ton of length and versatility to contend with.

Yes Jazz were ranked at both but everyone and their mother knew that they were paper tigers.

Wagner ain’t a lock down defender but he can be a two way player no doubt.

[BostonCouchGM]

if he hits the PEDs like Hayward did he could end up a top 8-10 player from this class. As is, he should be taken late lottery and at worst I see him being a Bogdon/Hayward hybrid if he does in fact put on muscle and get ripped. I expect him or Kispert to got to GSW with the 14th pick

[BostonCouchGM]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

Klay and Simmons?

[Big J]

if he hits the PEDs like Hayward did he could end up a top 8-10 player from this class. As is, he should be taken late lottery and at worst I see him being a Bogdon/Hayward hybrid if he does in fact put on muscle and get ripped. I expect him or Kispert to got to GSW with the 14th pick

Hayward is on PEDS? wtf?

[Big J]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

Klay and Simmons?

Cmon man. (Joe Biden voice)

[WargamesX]

When is the last time we've had a white lock down perimeter defender? I'll believe it when I see it happen. I'm guessing his D is slightly better than his bro's.

guess that depends on your definition of 'lockdown'...tho not really sure anyone called Franz a lockdown perimeter guy, but he does display + defensive IQ and a good enough mobility+size combo to at the very least be average on that end at some point.

this guy is getting thoroughly underrated at this point, not sure why, not sure how often you see 6-9 combo forwards that can legitimately score on 3 levels, pass the ball like Wagner, not be defensively liabilities, hit FTs at 80+% clips AND all while being under 20.

he's a perfect fit in today's NBA with a clear path to success while having a lot of the skills/tools teams covet (or should covet)...dunno, maybe because his big bro hasn't been good in the NBA or the last game in the tourney left a sour taste in people's mouth but if this guy drops out of the top10 he should be considered a steal.

He should go in the second half of the lottery. The issue is the abundance of riches this year in regards to this draft class’s upside. A lot of these kids are projecting high upside and while Franz looks like the player every team wants, nobody wants to miss out on the next star.

Then like you said he totally crapped the bed offensively in the the tournament against UCLA and his shot is projected to get nice and then his brother’s didn’t. Not red flags per se, but it’s enough to keep him out the first half of the lottery.

I have him slotted to go between 8-14. That the range teams stop trying to hit home runs and start thinking playoff runs.

[Nuntius]

this guy is getting thoroughly underrated at this point, not sure why, not sure how often you see 6-9 combo forwards that can legitimately score on 3 levels, pass the ball like Wagner, not be defensively liabilities, hit FTs at 80+% clips AND all while being under 20.

I don't know enough about most college guys (I rely on this sub-forum and Spinella videos) so I have to ask. Can Wagner really score on 3 levels? Isn't his relatively low volume scoring one of the main things that people knock Wagner for?

[EvanZ]

Dunleavy was a great defender. Right now you have some smaller guys like Connaughton, DDV, and even Dellavadova that make their living on that side of the ball.

[bondom34]

From Barrtorvik:

https://www.barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&sIndex=40&minthreepa=50&minrimatt=90&minmidatt=60&year=2021&start=20201101&end=20210501

I'm getting 57 players who attempted at least 60 "close 2s" and 90 "far 2s" as well as 100 3s last season.

Wagner is 5th in 2 point percentage and though 36th in 3 point percentage a good FT shooter (tied for 15th/16th in the sample). He comes out at 11th in eFG and 10th in TS%. He's right in the group with Moody and Bouknight for me where I think I'm good with him in the 6-10 range at least. He's a lower usage guy, but if he's a non-star who's going to be a solid team defender who can shoot some he's what every team needs.

[Nuntius]

From Barrtorvik:

https://www.barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&sIndex=40&minthreepa=50&minrimatt=90&minmidatt=60&year=2021&start=20201101&end=20210501

I'm getting 57 players who attempted at least 60 "close 2s" and 90 "far 2s" as well as 100 3s last season.

Wagner is 5th in 2 point percentage and though 36th in 3 point percentage a good FT shooter (tied for 15th/16th in the sample). He comes out at 11th in eFG and 10th in TS%. He's right in the group with Moody and Bouknight for me where I think I'm good with him in the 6-10 range at least. He's a lower usage guy, but if he's a non-star who's going to be a solid team defender who can shoot some he's what every team needs.

True but only if that team already has an offensive star.

[bondom34]

From Barrtorvik:

https://www.barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&sIndex=40&minthreepa=50&minrimatt=90&minmidatt=60&year=2021&start=20201101&end=20210501

I'm getting 57 players who attempted at least 60 "close 2s" and 90 "far 2s" as well as 100 3s last season.

Wagner is 5th in 2 point percentage and though 36th in 3 point percentage a good FT shooter (tied for 15th/16th in the sample). He comes out at 11th in eFG and 10th in TS%. He's right in the group with Moody and Bouknight for me where I think I'm good with him in the 6-10 range at least. He's a lower usage guy, but if he's a non-star who's going to be a solid team defender who can shoot some he's what every team needs.

True but only if that team already has an offensive star.

Oh for sure, but think I'm more of the mind I'd rather not reach to try to find a star where there's more likely going to be a really good high end role player. For the most part teams can find volume scoring somewhere, I look at a guy like Mikal Bridges and can't think anything other than "what team doesn't need that guy".

Granted, if he were on say the Magic or Pistons he wouldn't look so amazing, but I'm not sure there's anyone even after 4 who fits that description to much possibility all that well (and likely a few of them won't ultimately either). Even OKC at 6 it's probably a slight reach but the more I think about it I wouldn't mind it much either, though maybe could trade back and still get him or trade up from later ideally.