Report: Magic, Moritz Wagner agree to two-year deal

It has been reported that free agent big man Moritz Wagner has reached a two-year agreement on a deal to re-sign with the Orlando Magic (team officials haven’t confirmed the signing). Josh Robbins, senior writer for The Athletic, was first to break the news.

Signing Wagner makes a lot of sense for the Magic for a couple of reasons. The most obvious being, the Magic just drafted Moritz’s younger brother (Franz Wagner) with the eighth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft last week. Having older brother Moritz around in Orlando is one way the Magic can support the lottery investment they made in Franz (and make his transition to the NBA/Central Florida that much smoother).

Franz was asked during a Zoom session with the media (Monday prior to the draft) about one day playing on the same NBA team as his older brother Moritz. “I’d rather play with him.” the younger Wagner said. “Playing against him, he’s a pain in the a**…”

Secondly, the Magic were in need of another big forward on their roster to provide some depth and insurance. The Michigan product is probably more of a center than a power forward, but he did play the ‘4’ position with Orlando late last season (averaged 3.9 three-point attempts per contest for the Magic last season, 37% 3PT%).

The Magic have Jonathan Isaac and Chuma Okeke already on the roster, but both players have recently dealt with significant knee injuries (Isaac is still working his way back from an ACL tear he suffered last year).

Wagner has averaged 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds over his three-year NBA career (stops with the Lakers, Wizards, Celtics, and Magic). In what can be viewed as an eleven game audition to close out the 2020-21 season, the Berlin, Germany native averaged 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 26 minutes per game (10 starts).

Wagner has been in Tokyo, Japan this month representing the German National Team in the 2021 Summer Olympics.

Agreeing to terms with Wagner (again, not official yet) puts Orlando’s roster at 14 guaranteed contracts. Swingman Dwayne Bacon has a contract for 2021-22 that fully guarantees on August 8th.