Where does Moritz Wagner fit in on the Lakers?
Moritz Wagner joins fellow recent first-round picks Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Kyle Kuzma on the young Lakers roster. Those four players have seemingly solidified their spots on the team, and it’ll be interesting to see if Wagner can do the same.
Since Brook Lopez won’t be coming back and JaVale McGee and Ivica Zubac leave a lot to be desired, Wagner could get some time at the center position. He’d theoretically be a great stretch-5 as he shot 39.5 percent from the 3-point line during his junior year at Michigan.
He also shows all-around versatility on the offensive end, but it’s the defensive end where he leaves a lot to be desired. He doesn’t have the quickest feet and might struggle in the switching defense that Luke Walton and the rest of the NBA like to use.
He probably wouldn’t get much time at the 4 position as Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James will take up most of the minutes there. LeBron might even get minutes at the center position, which would further complicate Wagner’s ability to get on the court.
I do think Wagner will earn more minutes than Svi, but I doubt either of the two rookies will come near Hart’s minutes per game at the end of the season. That’s fine because if Wagner produces well off the bench and Svi makes a couple threes in his probable short amount of minutes, then Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson still scored big at the draft (again).
Next: Grading The Lakers Free Agency Thus Far and Potential Moves
Continue to keep tabs on the NBA Summer League. The Lakers will try to repeat off of their championship last year — but even more importantly — we can continue to scout Hart, Svi, and Wagner.