Orlando Magic: Could Franz Wagner be the franchise cornerstone?
By Luke Duffy
Franz Wagner is already comfortable leading the Orlando Magic
This brings us back to Wagner, not only the most unassuming of potential cornerstones but not even the most heralded player that the Magic selected in this year’s draft. That would be Jalen Suggs, who was taken three spots before Wagner at fifth overall, and who has had all of the struggles that you would expect from a rookie.
It may be that Suggs, as some hope and assume, turns into the guy. But at this point, Wagner is showing far more comfort after only a handful of games and looks as though he could one day rise to that status.
The timing of this piece isn’t entirely perfect, however, as Wagner most recently had a paltry nine points and three rebounds in an ugly defeat to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
That dropped the Magic to 2-7 on the season, but we already knew this campaign wasn’t going to be about the wins. It was more about the development of young guys and readying them for future contests which much higher stakes. This is where the potential of Wagner can really be seen, as he does not look afraid of the moment at all.
He currently leads the entire league (alongside the impressive Evan Mobley) in the RAPTOR stat for rookies. This is a great place to be, and if you’re in the same company as Mobley, who has looked right at home in the league since day one, then you are doing something right.
More than that though, Wagner has already had the kind of electrifying performances most Magic rookies never did.