Moritz Wagner

Wagner ended the 2021-22 season with some productive basketball, reminding everyone what he can do when afforded sufficient playing time. Unfortunately, that was likely a mirage, resulting from injuries to other players. The Magic are building an excellent young squad, and although Wagner is still young himself, it doesn't appear as though they will prioritize him moving forward. Wagner is certainly not on the fantasy radar but, should he benefit from injuries to others, he is a name to consider as a short-term pickup.

Wagner spent the 2020-21 season essentially touring the east coast, as he spent his first 25 appearances of the season with the Wizards, averaging 7.0 points in 15.0 minutes per game. The Michigan product was sent to Boston in a part of a three-team trade at the trade deadline but only appeared in nine games with the team before getting waived. The 6-foot-11 big then signed with the Magic and had a solid end to the season, averaging 11.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 25.9 minutes while shooting 37.2 percent from beyond the arc. Wagner's decent play in Orlando led to him resigning with the team in the offseason, but it will be hard for him to see the lofty minutes he saw at the end of the year due to the team's depth in the frontcourt. Wendell Carter Jr. appears to be the team's starting center while Mo Bamba is still there. The team also added Robin Lopez in the offseason as well as drafting Wagner's younger brother, Franz. Chuma Okeke and Jonathan Isaac, once healthy, will probably see action at power forward. Due to the team's depth, it seems that a productive fantasy season out of Wagner is unlikely.

After being buried on the depth chart as a rookie for the Lakers, Wagner nearly doubled his playing time with Washington in his second season. Wagner averaged 8.7 points, 4.9 boards, 1.2 dimes and 1.0 combined blocks/steals across 18.6 minutes per contest in 2019-20. He struggled from three (31.3 percent) but shot a respectable 54.5 percent from the floor and 82.1 percent from the fee-throw line. Wagner's minutes, stats and shooting percentages were all career-best numbers for the Michigan product. Despite his still-limited minutes for the Wizards, Wagner proved to be an efficient player, averaging 16.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 dimes and 2.0 combined blocks/steals per 36 minutes, and in five starts, he posted 9.8 points and 8.2 boards across 24 minutes (14.7 points and 12.3 boards per 36). Wagner saw extended playing time for Washington due to multi-game absences from both Thomas Bryant and Davis Bertans, and with both seemingly at full health for the upcoming campaign, Wagner will likely shift back to a more bench-centric role. The return of John Wall to the rotation could further cut into Wagner's minutes. Wagner is worth drafting in deep leagues, but he's not a player to target in 12-team formats.

Wagner saw a lot of the bench as a rookie, averaging just 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per contest for the Lakers. He played behind JaVale McGee to start the season and eventually fell behind Ivica Zubac, as the latter put his talents on display for some solid stretches of basketball. Wagner was traded to the Wizards in a salary dump to clear cap space for Anthony Davis, and his value should increase with Washington. Thomas Bryant is entrenched as Washington's starter, but Wagner will compete with Ian Mahinmi to be the top backup at center, and he should garner some minutes at power forward as well. Wagner was a strong scorer, rebounder and three-point shooter while at Michigan, and aside from poor shooting (41.5 field goal percentage, 28.6 three-point percentage) as a rookie, he averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 threes per 36 minutes. Those numbers are solid, but he'll still have to earn his minutes given Bryant's presumed role and the fact that Washington drafted forward Rui Hachimura ninth overall and brought in another floor-stretching big in Davis Bertans.

Voted to the All-Big Ten Second Team as a junior at Michigan last year, Wagner was selected by the Lakers with the 25th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft after averaging 14.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and hitting 1.6 threes per game at 39.4 percent. Though he shot just 28.0 percent from distance during summer league, he was still able to score (12.5 PPG), rebound (8.0 RPG) and play defense at a solid clip (a combined 3.7 steals/blocks per tilt). At 6-foot-11, 245 pounds, Wagner will probably be see time at both power forward and center for the Lakers. It’s unlikely he'll start at center for the team, but considering the only other two centers on the roster are JaVale McGee (less than 10 minutes per game last season) and Ivica Zubac (more G-League minutes than NBA minutes last season), Wagner should be in line for significant run. From a Fantasy perspective, he'll probably be the most valuable in leagues that account for three-pointers made.