Second-year ahead Franz Wagner will probably be accessible for the Orlando Magic’s Thursday preseason matchup on the San Antonio Spurs.
Wagner, who was named to the All-Rookie first crew and completed fourth (two third-place votes) in voting for Rookie of the Year that was awarded to Toronto Raptors ahead Scottie Barnes, sat out of the Magic’s preseason-opening loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
He’s anticipated to start out alongside Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero, within the No. 1 choose in June’s NBA draft, within the frontcourt for the primary time.
“You have guys that can guard multiple positions, but also, you have three young guys who can make great decisions,” coach Jamahl Mosley stated after Thursday’s shootaround. “They’re all ball movers. They understand where guys are on the floor and they’re willing passers. That’s such a great combination to put out on the floor for us.”
That trio has the potential to be the Magic’s long-term beginning frontcourt.
“The sky is the limit,” Carter stated of the trio. “Franz is a player who plays the right way. He plays to win. It’s really easy playing with Franz. It’s P’s first year, so he’s going to go through stuff that all rookies go through. But at the same time, he’s a phenomenal player and he also plays to win. So, it’s very easy when you’re playing with guys who all have the same goal in mind.”
Markelle Fultz (toe), Gary Harris (left knee rehabilitation), Jonathan Isaac (left knee rehabilitation), and Admiral Schofield (left knee contusion) stay sidelined.
The Magic are monitoring Wagner’s preseason workload after a month-long, summer season run with Germany males’s nationwide basketball crew, which included enjoying in friendlies, 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and EuroBasket 2022 — a event by which Germany received the bronze medal after defeating Poland on Sept. 18 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.
Wagner averaged 15.2 factors, 4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.6 minutes (9 video games) in EuroBasket.
Orlando will play the Mavericks in Dallas on Friday to wrap up the back-to-back.
“We’ll make sure he’s working his way back the right way,” Mosley instructed the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s going to be [about] how his body responds to that first game more than anything.”
The Magic conclude their preseason slate with house video games vs. the Grizzlies (Oct. 11) and Cleveland Cavaliers (Oct. 14).
This story will probably be up to date.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected]or observe him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com