3 Magic players who will benefit from playing with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

2. Franz Wagner

Franz Wagner is only 22 years old and in his third NBA season. No one is a finished product at that stage of their career, but Wagner is the Magic’s second star. That comes with a lot of pressure, and last season some of his struggles overshadowed his overall growth.

Wagner shot only 28.1 percent from three last season and struggled to make shots in Game 7. His struggles from behind the arc stuck out like a sore thumb because the team relied on him so much. 

Threes are a big part of the modern NBA. While the Magic didn't take many compared to the rest of the league, someone had to try their luck from behind the arc every once in a while. Without a lot of established volume shooters, Wagner found himself in that position quite a lot, averaging the second-most three-point attempts on the team. 

Wagner needs to work on his shot—there is no way to work around that—but hopefully, the presence of a respected 3-and-D player like Caldwell-Pope will take some of the pressure off of him. If Caldwell-Pope shoots around 40 percent from three again and Jalen Suggs can replicate his production from last season, Wagner should have some more time to work through his shooting issues without holding the team back. 

Plus, due to the addition of Caldwell-Pope, the Magic will now have Gary Harris coming off the bench as a shooting threat, and maybe Tristan da Silva can contribute in that department as well.