Moritz Wagner Discussion: Mo Knows Treys

You see a little of everything this game and his potential. The hands on defense, passing ability, shooting ability, taking his man off the dribble..

 

Great parents too, I remember during the final four and game leading up to that his parents were so nervous watching from the stands. The camera would always found them after a big play from Mo and the mom would be covering her eyes half looking, haha. Proud parents for sure.

 

I don't see why Brook couldn't be back. This to me seems like a move to replace Zu more than anything. Even right now Mo projects better and his game is so much more fluid than Zu's.

Those practice battles between Thomas and Mo, who both love to be vocal with their energy and enthusiasm is something to behold. Would love to see those match ups day in and day out.

 

This might be my favorite game of his.

1. It's against a VERY good Michigan St. team that has Jaren Jackson Jr. on it.
2. Look at the swagger he carries himself with. He's going to fit in real well on our team.
3. He shows all of the varying parts of his offensive game that can translate to the pros. Can put the ball on the floor, can hit shots outside, is creative in his shot creation. I can absolutely see him being a stud early on for us and being another "steal".

 

...at least defenses won't lay off and dare him to take the outside shot. Not a high fly act but has a semblance of a back to the basket game off the low block.

 

Impressive Percentages!

You can see why we liked both players

 

Given a handful of the players I wanted lasted well into the 2nd or even undrafted, I'll admit I was wrong on this guy being a reach.

The only thing I don't really really love about any of our players is a lack of leaping ability. Larry was our only real vertical spacer. We're going to have great intelligence and skill level, but sometimes you just need a guy who can take the lid off the defense.

 

We killed it with those low picks. Got exactly what we needed with him and Slava. Or Svi, whatever is easier.

 

Was he the best player available? No.

Does he have the highest ceiling? No.

Was he our biggest need? No.

So on the surface it doesn't make much sense. But neither did Kuzma or Larry.

I think he is a specialist. Emotional guy with a motor and stretch ability with good character. The Lakers already have talent and potential.

They need to fill out the roster with diverse players that are specialized in certain areas and in that context it makes very good sense to pick him.

He will probably never be a starter but that's not necessarily important right now. It's important that he is useful and a role player that plays his role as good as possible.

 

At some point today I'll have a gif breakdown of exactly how skilled Wagner is. The way he moves for a 6'11" guy is remarkable. We're going to see it right away in Summer League. In a lot of ways his mobility reminds me of Kuzma, but in a bigger body.