Wagner hit the ground running in his rookie campaign, immediately being thrust into a starting slot as a result of the multitude of injuries the Magic were juggling across their frontcourt. Could he one day emerge as the star the Magic so desperately crave? With his focused aggression on offense, sweet shooting mechanics, an emerging playmaking talent, unexpected positional versatility, and solid underlying defensive numbers there’s plenty to love already about Wagner’s game. It’s not far-fetched to think that he could one day grow into an All-Star level talent. Even as a rookie he’s clearly a versatile glue guy. The general consensus regarding Franz Wagner was that he was a late lottery talent, but across just two months of regular season action he’s already flashed enough to suggest that such projections were simply too low for the talented youngster. Instead, it’s actually Suggs’ rookie running mate who is laying some claim to being the steal of the 2021 draft class. Whether or not that comes to fruition for the former Bulldog remains to be seen, but it’s certainly not yet the dominant narrative of his rookie campaign. In the young guard the Magic were able to snag someone who had frequently been talked about as a top-tier lottery talent, a player who might one day represent the sort of draft fortune that can catapult a team to unexpected contention. Reflecting upon this you would be forgiven for, at first blush, thinking of Jalen Suggs and his slide from the top four. Which, as we now know, is exactly what happened. Sure lottery luck remained elusive, but with a pair of picks at their disposal the team was in with an excellent chance to pounce should the sides above overlook a prospect. With two swings from relatively favorable slots – fifth and eighth – Orlando was always well-positioned to come away with at least one roster piece that figured to help firm up the foundation of the current rebuild. The Magic may have hit a home run at this year’s draft.
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