big-shot-ROB wrote:Then you're talking about 3rd bananas or elite starting role players (think Draymond, Bosh, Brook Lopez, Love, Siakam):
3a. Barnes
3b. Wagner
I appreciate the comparison of Franz Wagner to Bosh, Love, and Siakam, but if you call those guys role players (even with the words "elite" and "starting" before the term) then that term has no meaning and these desperate "superstar or role player?" discussions are even more absurd.
facothomas22 wrote:4. Franz Wagner - He has scored almost 20 points per game. However he's doing that on 31% from the 3pt line. He's also a limited defender. Maybe he could a borderline all star if he becomes a really good 3pt shooter
I'm happy to stay out of this discussion, but thinking of Franz as a limited defender is uninformed. He moves his feet, has quick hands, and keeps his hands up without fouling. No, he's not the next Kawhi Leonard, but it's the same thing with the silly labeling process we have around here. There's a wide gulf between Kawhi and limited defender.
I agree with your overall assessment though. Very perceptive. He had a rough start shooting the 3 because they moved him from spot ups in the corner last year off the ball to pull ups at the top of the arc as the primary ball handler. He's already improving on that end and shot 38% in the month of November. All with a ligament tear in his hand, hah. Despite what ceiling chasers think, shooting improvement is never guaranteed, but I'll take his 86% from the free throw line as confidence that he'll eventually nail that 3 point shot.