Moritz Wagner has been worth the signing for Orlando Magic

Moritz Wagner has a pretty long list of NBA stars he has annoyed. Saturday night in Dallas, he added Luka Doncic to the list.

Jalen Suggs did his work, making an impressive move that bumped Luka Doncic off his spot and led to an and-1 finish. Never mind the Magic were down by double digits and long out of the game. This is a young team and it was still an impressive play.

Wagner gave a brief flex right in front of Doncic on behalf of his teammate. The sometimes moody Doncic took exception to it and tried to brush him aside. What constitutes an NBA fight seemed about to ensue as Wagner walked away, his hands up acting very innocent as teammates tried to get between Doncic and the veteran big man.

Both players got technical fouls for their trouble. And Doncic gave some choice words for Wagner as the officials cleaned up the penalties and punishments for this incident.

Wagner has done this before. He is good at getting under opponents’ skin and being a bit of an instigator. He notably got suspended a game — and got Giannis Antetokounmpo suspended a game — when he buried his head in the MVP’s chest in the bubble while playing for the Washington Wizards.

To some extent, it is probably not a good thing that antics and provocations get more attention than his actual play. This is part of his role. He is supposed to be annoying enough to distract anyone that happens to be on the floor with him.

Moritz Wagner has long been an irritant throughout the NBA. But the Orlando Magic big man is doing a whole lot more of late, becoming a reliable shooter for a team desperate for offense.

Then again, of late, Wagner’s play is starting to turn heads too. And really throughout the season, Wagner has proven himself to be a fairly reliable offensive player that the Magic have slotted in wherever they need him.

After putting up impressive numbers by default in his short run with the Magic last year, Wagner has proven a key player off the Magic’s bench this year — certainly silencing doubters like myself who wondered if Wagner was the right guy to add to complement the roster.

For the season, Wagner is averaging 7.5 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game in 12.3 minutes per game. He is shooting 48.6-percent from the floor and 36.3-percent from beyond the arc for a 58.7-percent effective field goal percentage.

The Magic do not use him in every game, especially when fully healthy (the rare times that has occurred), but they sprinkle him in enough to prove his effectiveness.

Recently, with Wendell Carter out of the lineup, Moritz Wagner has stepped up his game considerably. He is averaging 18.7 points per game and shooting 65.6-percent from the floor in the Magic’s last three games. That included a 26-point, 4-for-8 3-point shooting performance in the win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Wagner is seeing a nice little push and bump of late as his 3-pointers start to fall more consistently.

That 3-point shooting is what has made him such a valuable player too. According to Basketball-Index, Wagner is shooting 50.0-percent on corner 3-pointers, placing him in the 87th percentile in the league.

He is doing this while largely shooting contested threes. His openness rating, a measure from Basketball-Index that measures how open a player’s 3-point shots are, ranks in the 31st percentile in the league.

Indeed, Wagner has made 41 of 68 3-pointers (60.3-percent) with the closest defender within four feet of him, according to NBA.com’s tracking statistics. That ability to hit shots from the perimeter with the defense all over him has been a relief for the Magic’s second unit.

Especially when he hits them in bunches like he did in Friday’s win. That was momentum-changing for the team. Wagner was big late in that game, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter of that game.

He is also good at moving without the ball and creating impact through his movement. Most of his shots inside the paint come from cuts through the lane and to the basket.

Wagner also is a good pick and roll partner. According to Basketball-Index, he averages 4.0 screen assists per 75 possessions and the team scores 0.16 points per 75 possessions more than the average from Wagner’s pick and rolls.

He just is not a reliable option inside the paint as the roll man — the Magic score only 0.88 points per possession according to NBA.com’s tracking statistics on his pick and rolls as the roll man. Wagner is still better popping out to the 3-point line or setting a screen to spring someone free.

Wagner too can still improve defensively. Even though he is not much of a shot-blocker, he still has a positive defensive impact. That ability to get under players’ skin is a very real thing and a product of his physical defense and good positioning in the paint.

Nobody is under the impression Orlando should be starting Wagner as the team did late last season. Wagner is still a bit of a limited player offensively and even defensively.

Like Michael Carter-Williams, he has shortcomings in his game and him being an irritant can backfire in spectacular ways. But playing the right number of minutes and the right role, he can be a positive force for the team.

With Carter-Williams out so far this year recovering from offseason ankle surgery, the Magic have needed someone to fill that irritant role. Although certainly, the team could use someone who could hound players on the perimeter — Suggs is getting there.

Wagner went from a good stats, bad team player last year who was overused to someone who has carved out a pretty specific role. He is making contributions to the team.

Orlando probably did not need another center to fill out its roster. Wagner has carved out playing time because the Magic ended up going with a two-big lineup that opened up a spot on the depth chart for him. Things may yet change as players return from injury.

But Wagner has made the most of his time. Beyond just being a familiar face to help his brother, Franz Wagner, get comfortable with the league, Moritz Wagner has been an asset to the team. He has helped the Magic in some major ways this year.

Even if that gets under some people’s skin in the process.