OKC Thunder: Giddey stays in top 5 of TI’s week 3 rookie ladder
No 5 – Franz Wagner – Orlando Magic
Rookie category rankings:
- Points: 13.7 – fourth
- Field Goals Made: 5.5 – fourth
- Steals: 1.1 – fourth
- Offensive rebounds: 1.1 – sixth
- Blocks: 0.5 – sixth
- Rebounds: 3.5 – eighth
- Assists: 2.1 – 10th
- Field Goal Percent: 46.8%
Some national writers will rank Franz Wagner higher than OKC Thunder guard Josh Giddey or Pacers rookie Chris Duarte. I can understand their thinking because Wagner is living up to the pre mock hype of being an all-around player with ample skills.
At 20 he’ll continue to grow and develop but there are already signs of his capabilities as he does a bit of everything.
I’m anxious to see his fit alongside Jonathan Isaacs once he returns particularly with the other bigs (Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., and his brother Mo). Will Jeff Wentz keep all of them or shop one of the youngsters to add wing depth which is what the Magic sorely needs.
Since he can play off the ball he may be the most valuable frontcourt player other than Isaac. It was part of the reason why he rose up the draft board because his game marries well to any team.
Although his handle needs some work it’s already developed enough that if he’s run at he can put the ball on the floor and drive or dish. Or as the Wolves found out, drive and dunk embarrassing his defender.
Because of his size, he could take a few lessons from fellow rookie Scottie Barnes and use his size versus smaller guards to get easy baskets. The problem is while he has shown skill at catch and shoot or driving opportunities his pull-up game needs work. Time to get in the lab and work on that part of his offensive game.