NBA: Wagner to the Lakers – They could not resist

A dream has come true for Moritz Wagner. The Berliner was selected in the draft by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round at position 25. The Lakers rave about the German Big, who himself almost lacks words. Who he will play with next season is still completely open. Even LeBron James could soon be his teammate.

You just couldn’t resist him. The Los Angeles Lakers chose Moritz Wagner with the 25th pick in the draft, or as Woj shortly before put it:’The Lakers are unlikely to resist Mo Wagner.’.

Lakers-GM Rob Pelinka also admitted at the following press conference that he was impressed by Wagner’s charisma. “You will love Wagner. He illuminates the room when he appears.” Of course, the words are dripping with pathos, but this is not unusual for Kobe Bryant’s former agent.

Nevertheless, it came as a bit of a surprise that Wagner was actually called in the first round. The American draft experts saw the Berliner in the middle of the second round, but in the end the old rule was that you only need a team that appreciates your game. In Wagner’s case, it was Tinseltown.

“It’s going to be really cool,” rejoiced an emotional Wagner, who couldn’t even shed a tear or two in the Barclays Center. So it was hardly surprising that Wagner had no idea what role he could play in the Lakers.

“I don’t worry about that at all now,” Wagner admitted. “It’s a dream to be a Laker. That’s what you’ve worked your whole life for, and now it’s true. I’m incredibly grateful.” Wagner couldn’t get out of his grin at all, the hard work of the last few years has now paid off.

It was a bold move three years ago when Wagner decided against Alba Berlin and took the plunge into the NCAA to become a traditional university in Michigan. By the way: Pelinka also played for the Wolverines and won the college title in 1989. Wagner, however, was not allowed to do so, even though he carried his team through the March Madness this year in order to ultimately fail in the final due to the outstanding Villanova Wildcats.

However, March did not harm his draft stick. The Big Man has completed numerous workouts, including one on June 3rd at the Lakers. The glamour franchise even invited the German to a secret training session on Monday to be finally convinced – Wagner did.

“If you want to build a team, you need certain pillars,” Pelinka described the strategy. “You need players with high intelligence. We got boys who can throw and play the game the way it should be played. Coach Luke Walton was very excited about our picks.”

In addition to Wagner, the Lakers also brought the Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk from Kansas and Isaac Bonga, another German, in the second round. However, Pelinka could not say anything about the future of the man from Frankfurt, because the Lakers got this pick in a trade with Philly. However, the trade may only be made official on July 6, so Pelinka may not talk about it. It can be assumed that 18-year-old Bonga will remain in Europe for a while.

That’s probably not an option for Wagner. At 21 years of age, the ex-Wolverines player is already much further than his compatriot and could also fight for his place in the rotation. “We found out that he is a good passer, he has good blocks and of course he can spread the field with his throwing quality”, Pelinka described Wagner’s abilities.

To what extent Wagner can show this in his rookie season is completely unclear. The competition is not particularly fierce now. Only Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac and Thomas Bryant are under contract in the big positions, while Julius Randle (Restricted), Channing Frye and Brook Lopez will all become free agents.

And then there are the Lakers’ plans to get another superstar or two. LeBron James, Paul George or Kawhi Leonard are often associated with the Lakers, the squad could in principle be completely renewed in a month, also because L.A. has room for two maximum contracts.

But the Lakers want to do the splits here too. “We want to win, but also continue to develop our young players,” says the GM. “I think we are well positioned to do so. If you’ve looked at the playoffs, you’ve seen that even young people can be successful at a high level.”

Either way, Wagner could find his part. The German is the insurance for Magic Johnson and Co. at least once, if you can’t agree with Restricted Free Agent Randle. The Lakers were also the worst team from a distance last season (34.5 per cent), and the 40 per cent thrower Wagner (108 converted three-man in his junior season) could help a little.

But that doesn’t mean that the former Alba player will be on the field for 30 minutes per game next season. Wagner will have to prove himself, especially in the defense. This is where the weaknesses of the Berliners are at home, especially their lack of lateral speed. This could be a big problem, especially with the knowledge that the NBA is becoming more and more of a switch league in which bigs are required to keep guards in front of them.

Wagner was already struggling with this in college, which, given its size, is not yet a ring protector. But people in Tinseltown will be aware of this. Wagner is not a lottery pick, so you will have patience with the German, who at 21 is far from the end of his development. “We want to develop him further because we believe he can be a very good player,” Pelinka explained.

Wagner will find his niche. Throwing Bigs are in demand, even if a bigger role seems out of reach at first. In the Summer League and in the training camp the German will be allowed to recommend himself for higher tasks and fight for a place in the squad and the rotation.

His shoot could be the can opener. “Magic has always preached to us that we need more shooting,” Pelinka said of the Lakers’ strategy. “Mo was one of the best at the workouts, his litter is just beautiful.”

Wagner stood out from the 125 players who tested and scrutinized the Lakers over the past few weeks. In front of Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler and Co., the native Berliner will be able to show why a glorious franchise like the Los Angeles Lakers simply could not resist him in the new season.