Franz Wagner (22) poses for a portrait during media day. He's entering his second season with the Orlando Magic. (Willie J. Allen Jr., Orlando Sentinel)
Second-year forward Franz Wagner will be available for the Orlando Magic’s Thursday preseason matchup at the San Antonio Spurs.
Wagner, who was named to the All-Rookie first team and finished fourth (two third-place votes) in voting for Rookie of the Year that was awarded to Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, sat out of the Magic’s preseason-opening loss to the Memphis Grizzlies Monday.
He’s expected to start alongside Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero, in the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, in the frontcourt for the first time.
“You have guys that can guard multiple positions, but also, you have three young guys who can make great decisions,” coach Jamahl Mosley said 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 starting frontcourt.
“The sky is the limit,” Carter said 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) remain sidelined.
The Magic are monitoring Wagner’s preseason workload after a month-long, summer run with Germany men’s national basketball team, which included playing in friendlies, 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and EuroBasket 2022 — a tournament in which Germany won the bronze medal after defeating Poland on Sept. 18 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.
Wagner averaged 15.2 points, 4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.6 minutes (9 games) in EuroBasket.
Orlando will play the Mavericks in Dallas Friday to wrap up the back-to-back.
“We’ll make sure he’s working his way back the right way,” Mosley told 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 home games vs. the Grizzlies (Oct. 11) and Cleveland Cavaliers (Oct. 14).
This story will be updated.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.comor follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service