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Orlando Magic: Ranking every offseason acquisition

By Philip Rossman-Reich

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Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic surprised some by going with a relatively safe pick in Franz Wagner. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images) /

Orlando Magic ranking every offseason acquisition:

2. Drafting Franz Wagner

The Orlando Magic probably did not imagine when they made the Nikola Vucevic trade with the Chicago Bulls they would get a second pick in the top-10.

But the Bulls struggled mightily integrating Vucevic — and dealing with COVID issues internally — and they sunk down the standings. They landed the eighth pick and conveyed it to the Magic.

Orlando got a second bite at the apple, so to speak, to get an impact player for the roster and restart the team. Fans were really excited about this opportunity to get another valued player.

It was thus a bit surprising the team went with what felt like a fairly safe pick in Franz Wagner.

Wagner is not a bad player by any stretch of the imagination. He was good at Michigan, averaging 12.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game with a 54.4-percent effective field goal percentage last year.

His Summer League run was a bit of a struggle — 8.0 points per game with a 48.3-percent effective field goal percentage. But he was admittedly rusty having not played 5-on-5 since the college season ended. And he improved as the week went on after a nervy start.

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    • What Wagner really provides the team is someone who has a good basketball IQ and knows how and when to make a pass or cut. He will work really well off the ball to help others get better. That is really valuable.

    He showed a lot of this poise and veteran presence throughout his Summer League run. There were plenty of good signs.

    But Wagner always seemed better as a complementary piece. It feels like he would have fit better on a team with an established culture and a role perfectly carved out for him.

    It felt like the Magic should have used this eighth pick to fill that shooting or positional need — Franz Wagner is essentially the same kind of versatile forward as Jonathan Isaac and Chuma Okeke. Fans are still lamenting not taking Moses Moody after his solid Summer League run or James Bouknight with his scoring potential.

    That might just be fans talking. Wagner does a lot of things NBA people love. And the Magic did not reach at all in taking him with the eighth pick.