Orlando Magic: Ranking every offseason acquisition
Orlando Magic ranking every offseason acquisition:
5. Re-Signing Moritz Wagner
The Orlando Magic had one open roster spot since they were returning so many players from last year’s team and were so young. It was kind of hard to figure out what they were going to do with it.
There was certainly some hope the team would mine its Summer League team for untapped talent. And Janis Timma certainly impressed in Summer League — both for his look and vibe and for his play on the court.
But the team ultimately stuck with a player the team is already fairly comfortable with. The Magic signed Moritz Wagner to a two-year deal — the second year reportedly non-guaranteed in a similar contract the team signed Dwayne Bacon last offseason.
Orlando Magic
Wagner will not play much. He is deep on the depth chart behind three centers — Wendell Carter, Mohamed Bamba and Robin Lopez — and three power forwards — Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke and Franz Wagner. Unless the plan is to have those three forwards spend more time at the 3 rather than the 4, finding a real chance for Wagner to play will be rough.
Maybe the team wanted to shore up its depth in case Isaac is unable to play significant minutes.
Wagner was solid last year for the Magic though. He averaged 11.0 points per game and shot a 49.5-percent effective field goal percentage in 11 games with the Magic. He stepped in at a moment when the team was wracked with injury and just trying to get to the end of the season. He played well.
But this move should still get some questions. Is this the best use of the Magic’s limited roster space? Should this have been where the Magic put their resources?
Considering how unlikely it is for Wagner even to sniff minutes with so many young players ahead of him at his preferred position — I am especially dubious of any plans to use him at power forward — it felt like this would have been a spot better spent on a flamethrower or young shooter off the bench.
Everyone on the roster should have at least some path toward minutes — whether that is through competition or as insurance for injury. It is hard to see where Wagner fits in there.
This is a low-risk signing considering he is essentially on a one-year deal, but the Magic should be using every roster spot to learn something or complete some purpose for their rebuild.