The Official Franz Wagner Thread

[GelbeWand09]

Weird how so many people loved Barnes but hate Wagner, even though they are the same type of player
big facilitators with elite defense that can play multiple spots
Difference is Barnes is more athletic whereas Wagner can actually shoot

And in the head to head matchup in the tourney, barnes was a complete nonfactor against Wagner

Wagner wasnt my choice, but after getting Suggs, we almost had to go wing, and Wagner was the fit Weham like. I personally thought the Ziaire hype was real and they would take him, but personally was hoping we found a way to get Jalen Johnson as that wing, but i get why they took Wagner, and hey, atleast he can shoot better than most the guys in this draft. People keeps harping on his 3pt, but hes a SF and is 6'10 (ive seen 6'9 and up to 6'11 so ill average it) who shot 34%, what more do people want?




And as for comparisons, the one that makes the most sense to me is a poor mans Lamar Odem. Not quite as athletic, but very similar size and skill set

Not surprised that you like Johnson. He reminds me of Gordon a lot. Really really interested how he turns out in Atlanta. Thats definitely a lotta potential they got @20.

[OrlChamps2030]

Weird how so many people loved Barnes but hate Wagner, even though they are the same type of player
big facilitators with elite defense that can play multiple spots
Difference is Barnes is more athletic whereas Wagner can actually shoot

And in the head to head matchup in the tourney, barnes was a complete nonfactor against Wagner

Wagner wasnt my choice, but after getting Suggs, we almost had to go wing, and Wagner was the fit Weham like. I personally thought the Ziaire hype was real and they would take him, but personally was hoping we found a way to get Jalen Johnson as that wing, but i get why they took Wagner, and hey, atleast he can shoot better than most the guys in this draft. People keeps harping on his 3pt, but hes a SF and is 6'10 (ive seen 6'9 and up to 6'11 so ill average it) who shot 34%, what more do people want?




And as for comparisons, the one that makes the most sense to me is a poor mans Lamar Odem. Not quite as athletic, but very similar size and skill set

Not surprised that you like Johnson. He reminds me of Gordon a lot. Really really interested how he turns out in Atlanta. Thats definitely a lotta potential they got @20.

I liked the Hawks draft. Johnson and Cooper is a nice haul for a ECF team

[GelbeWand09]

Weird how so many people loved Barnes but hate Wagner, even though they are the same type of player
big facilitators with elite defense that can play multiple spots
Difference is Barnes is more athletic whereas Wagner can actually shoot

And in the head to head matchup in the tourney, barnes was a complete nonfactor against Wagner

Wagner wasnt my choice, but after getting Suggs, we almost had to go wing, and Wagner was the fit Weham like. I personally thought the Ziaire hype was real and they would take him, but personally was hoping we found a way to get Jalen Johnson as that wing, but i get why they took Wagner, and hey, atleast he can shoot better than most the guys in this draft. People keeps harping on his 3pt, but hes a SF and is 6'10 (ive seen 6'9 and up to 6'11 so ill average it) who shot 34%, what more do people want?




And as for comparisons, the one that makes the most sense to me is a poor mans Lamar Odem. Not quite as athletic, but very similar size and skill set

Not surprised that you like Johnson. He reminds me of Gordon a lot. Really really interested how he turns out in Atlanta. Thats definitely a lotta potential they got @20.

I liked the Hawks draft. Johnson and Cooper is a nice haul for a ECF team

Yea me too. Cooper is the perfect backup for Trae & they have so many shooters around him.

[tiderulz]

well, he just shot 34% on 3.5 attempts, raising up from 31% the year before. so he has already shown improvement. 34% walking into the league isnt a sniper, but it isnt bad. repetition should increase that

I dont know how much work there really needs to be on the 3 ball. I mean FT shooting is there and he shot 40% on 3.6 attempts per game for that 22 game stretch.

I mean if he is a consistent 40% shooter than it's going to be a great find for us. But that's a big if. I mean just look at Terrence Ross. he shot 37% his last season in college, and he hasn't cracked 40% in the NBA once (though has come close a few times). Ross is a streaky shooter, and when he gets hot look out, but even someone known for their shooting struggles to get into the upper 30s over the course of a season.

a) The NBA three is not the same as NCAA. It might just be another foot and a half, and it's becoming less of an issue for players, but it's still an adjustment.

b) The rigors of the NBA are just different than college. We've seen great shooters in college fade in the NBA, and Wagner was a good shooter, but not great.

c) 22 games is too small a sample size IMO. I'll go with the 35% he shot for the season, which is good, not great.

If he shoots close to 40% from three he'll be a great additional to the squad.

I think a lot is what type of 3 pt shooter are you taking. is Franz trying to create crazy 3's on his own like Ross does, or simple step into a 3 shot or assisted set shot.

[tiderulz]

Not surprised that you like Johnson. He reminds me of Gordon a lot. Really really interested how he turns out in Atlanta. Thats definitely a lotta potential they got @20.

I liked the Hawks draft. Johnson and Cooper is a nice haul for a ECF team

Yea me too. Cooper is the perfect backup for Trae & they have so many shooters around him.

i dont agree Cooper is the perfect backup. felt they should have made a move for Ayo to back up Trae. Sharife is not a good shooter nor defender. Ayo big enough they could even play him along with Trae at times. no chance of that happening with Cooper.

[GelbeWand09]

I liked the Hawks draft. Johnson and Cooper is a nice haul for a ECF team

Yea me too. Cooper is the perfect backup for Trae & they have so many shooters around him.

i dont agree Cooper is the perfect backup. felt they should have made a move for Ayo to back up Trae. Sharife is not a good shooter nor defender. Ayo big enough they could even play him along with Trae at times. no chance of that happening with Cooper.

Havent seen much of Ayo, but yeah in theory a bigger PG who can shoot & defend would be perfect. But at 48, you rarely get the chance to draft someone with a legit elite NBA skill. In the few minutes Trae sits, he can give the same playmaking & they have so many shooters that they are maybe able to hide him in those 10-15 min better than most teams.

[OrlChamps2030]

I liked the Hawks draft. Johnson and Cooper is a nice haul for a ECF team

Yea me too. Cooper is the perfect backup for Trae & they have so many shooters around him.

i dont agree Cooper is the perfect backup. felt they should have made a move for Ayo to back up Trae. Sharife is not a good shooter nor defender. Ayo big enough they could even play him along with Trae at times. no chance of that happening with Cooper.

I like Ayo (Illinois basketball fan), but he's not really a true PG. I think he will carve out a good career though. He gives me Courtney Lee vibes as a pro. He has really great intangibles and leadership skills too, he almost singlehandedly brought the Illini back to relevancy.

Cooper had a first round grade by most analysts, so grabbing him at 48 is a good move. He's a great playmaker and floor general, so he's the perfect pure backup PG on a team loaded with shooters.

I like both Ayo and Cooper (two of the better picks in rd2) but they are two completely different players

[UCFJayBird]

I dont know how much work there really needs to be on the 3 ball. I mean FT shooting is there and he shot 40% on 3.6 attempts per game for that 22 game stretch.

I mean if he is a consistent 40% shooter than it's going to be a great find for us. But that's a big if. I mean just look at Terrence Ross. he shot 37% his last season in college, and he hasn't cracked 40% in the NBA once (though has come close a few times). Ross is a streaky shooter, and when he gets hot look out, but even someone known for their shooting struggles to get into the upper 30s over the course of a season.

a) The NBA three is not the same as NCAA. It might just be another foot and a half, and it's becoming less of an issue for players, but it's still an adjustment.

b) The rigors of the NBA are just different than college. We've seen great shooters in college fade in the NBA, and Wagner was a good shooter, but not great.

c) 22 games is too small a sample size IMO. I'll go with the 35% he shot for the season, which is good, not great.

If he shoots close to 40% from three he'll be a great additional to the squad.

Yea but this doesnt take into account, the difficulty of the 3 point attempts. I'm pretty sure Ross is a 40% 3 Point shooter if he only takes Joe Harris like ones. He takes a ton of off balance or heavy guarded threes.

Fair enough, i was just using Ross as a broad example since he's on the team. But there are a lot of players that shoot decent in college and aren't able to take that next step in the NBA to become a legit threat.

[tiderulz]

Yea me too. Cooper is the perfect backup for Trae & they have so many shooters around him.

i dont agree Cooper is the perfect backup. felt they should have made a move for Ayo to back up Trae. Sharife is not a good shooter nor defender. Ayo big enough they could even play him along with Trae at times. no chance of that happening with Cooper.

I like Ayo (Illinois basketball fan), but he's not really a true PG. I think he will carve out a good career though. He gives me Courtney Lee vibes as a pro. He has really great intangibles and leadership skills too, he almost singlehandedly brought the Illini back to relevancy.

Cooper had a first round grade by most analysts, so grabbing him at 48 is a good move. He's a great playmaker and floor general, so he's the perfect pure backup PG on a team loaded with shooters.

I like both Ayo and Cooper (two of the better picks in rd2) but they are two completely different players

except teams will back away from him because he cant shoot from distance and cant drive. he is a shorter Kendall Marshall. pass only

[Skin]

WeHam has secured another contract extension with this draft imo. I have loved every single one of their drafts. I have not always loved their passiveness in not moving up and their lack of interest in 2nd round picks, but they are doing as much as I could have hoped any front office would do.

Just yesterday, I had a fun debate on "Roster Construction" vs "Asset Accumulation" and argued that the former strategy is the way to build a team. WeHam showed me yesterday that they are all about that too. Were there better players available at 8? Certainly. This was a year stacked with Guard talent. As much as I LOVED Bouknight, there was just no way to justify his taking after drafting Suggs. Our focus needed to shift to SF. I personally did NOT have Wagner on my Top 10 board. But like I said, the way to build a team is not by selecting pure BPA from a ranking list. It's selecting the BPA that will make your roster harmonize. Wagner does that.

Wagner is not a guy who needs shots to be effective. He gives the Magic a player who they can give minutes to who will allow others to shine. You NEED guys like that. Guys who can keep the offensive balance in harmony, be effective without the ball, can defend at a high level, pass, rebound, yet be relied upon to score, if they need to, is CRITICAL to roster construction. Low usage players who can lock down high usage opponents is a valued commodity. WeHam must be on cloud 9 today. I've heard folks liken Suggs to Chauncey, and in some ways, Wagner is kind of like a Tayshaun Prince, jack-of-all-trades. A 6'10 forward with a 7'+ wingspan and high BBIQ. Yessssah! WELCOME TO ORLANDO FRANZ WAGNER!!!

[BlueBlazer]

First thing that struck me with Wagner is how quick his hands are for someone 6’9-6’10

[Orl_Magic]

I hope we see some brother to brother alley oops. I like that both Mo and Franz are not softies but also have skill.

[KillMonger]

I hope we see some brother to brother alley oops. I like that both Mo and Franz are not softies but also have skill.

isn't mo a free agent?

[Skin]

I hope we see some brother to brother alley oops. I like that both Mo and Franz are not softies but also have skill.

isn't mo a free agent?

Yes, we have his Bird Rights and we need to bring him back. He's ballin' in the Olympics.

[CLosP]

I hope we see some brother to brother alley oops. I like that both Mo and Franz are not softies but also have skill.

isn't mo a free agent?

Unless he gets a crazy contract I highly doubt he goes anywhere. He actually provides us solid depth so I hope to see him return.

[Skybox]

I hope we see some brother to brother alley oops. I like that both Mo and Franz are not softies but also have skill.

isn't mo a free agent?

Yes, we have his Bird Rights and we need to bring him back. He's ballin' in the Olympics.

I agree...he's a nice deep bench C/4, with some still to see upside. I like the brother thing but I definitely noticed how Franz answered the question about Mo being his teammate...immediately said something to the effect of "he's a free agent", didn't even really sugarcoat the softball question about playing together. We do need a 3rd Center and I like how Mo's play contrasts the other two.

[Xatticus]

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

That last question was strange. Dirk was the first major international to come over to the states? That dude needs to do some research.

[Tarheel]

Read on Twitter

For those on height watch, isn’t coach Mo 6’8”?

If he is Franz is a legit 6’11” easily, if not 7’.

[basketballRob]

I missed the press conference.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[RookieStar]

Read on Twitter

For those on height watch, isn’t coach Mo 6’8”?

If he is Franz is a legit 6’11” easily, if not 7’.

Isn't Coach Mo 6'6?