2021 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Who would the Houston Rockets take No. 1?

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MARCH 28: Franz Wagner #21 of the Michigan Wolverines takes a shot against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 28, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Orlando Magic. Franz Wagner. 6. player. 38. . Forward

The Magic are starting from scratch, after trading Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic at last year’s trade deadline. Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz will both be, hopefully, returning healthy. Mo Bamba played well with his role increasing, Wendell Carter Jr. looks like a solid contributor and Cole Anthony got plenty of meaningful developmental minutes, even if his shooting percentage are still a disaster. The Magic need a star, particularly on offense, to hold these parts together but they aren’t likely to find that kind of player in the middle of the lottery.

Wagner, however, offers a different kind of solution with the shooting, passing and complementary creation ability to be connective tissue on offense, making things easy for everyone else even if he’s not scoring 20 points a game or dominating in isolation. Wagner is also an excellent team defender and will help raise the floor for the Magic in a variety of ways. He’s the perfect complementary player for a future iteration of this team that lands a star in some other way.

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