For the majority of the lead-up to the 2021 NBA Draft, the Warriors have been linked to the same few names with the seventh pick. First it was Oregon’s Davion Mitchell. Then UConn’s James Bouknight. Even Jonathan Kuminga, out of the G League, was discussed.
With hours ticking off until the Warriors are officially on the clock – as if this were a game of Pokémon – a new challenger has appeared: Michigan’s Franz Wagner.
Suddenly, everyone and their mother has Wagner going to the Warriors at pick seven. ESPN slotted him there yesterday. So, too, did The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
One player who is kind of the prototypical prospect Bob Myers loves: Franz Wagner. Could very well be in the mix for the Warriors at No. 7. Other players to keep an eye on are Jonathan Kuminga (if available), James Bouknight and Josh Giddey.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) July 28, 2021
Wagner was long projected as a mid-to-high first-round pick, originally taken in many mocks in the 10-15 range. So why all this sudden hype?
Well, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who authored that aforementioned mock, wrote that Wagner “has continued to rise as teams have gotten to know him better on and off the court.”
Knowing Wagner on the court, at least, makes one think of former All-Star Detlef Schrempf – a tall, crafty, versatile player that transcends positional labels with his passing and offers shooting and defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHkkBf5AT48
He’s listed at 6’9, but NBC Sports Bay Area’s James Ham reported that Wagner said he was actually around 6’11. That kind of size, coupled with his playmaking ability – Wagner averaged 3 assists against 1.3 turnovers a game in his sophomore season for Michigan and reads the floor extremely well – alone makes him an intriguing fit.
“They just move a lot off the ball and pass the ball and move the ball a lot,” Wagner said of the Warriors, as reported by Wes Goldberg of the Bay Area News Group. “That requires high-IQ players and players that play the game well with each other. I think I could do that really well.”
It’s easy to imagine Wagner as a secondary or tertiary playmaker on the Warriors, with his ability to find cutters from the post or simply connect the chains to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson or Andrew Wiggins on the perimeter. He’s a willing screener and cutter, which on paper gives him a good chance to quickly develop chemistry within Steve Kerr’s offense.
That vision is helped by Wagner’s shooting – he didn’t light the world on fire at 34% from three-point range last season, but has a clean form and shot over 83% from the line, indicating the jumper is real. He’s also shown the ability to put the ball on the deck and use his strength to his advantage either on a drive or from the post against smaller defenders, a useful and projectable skill when attacking NBA closeouts.
Wagner’s most impressive attribute, however, may be his defense. O’Connor wrote that he had a “computer brain” on that side of the ball as a strong off-ball defender, and is also stout on the ball with some switchability.
Given Wagner’s prowess, it’s not hard to imagine him blowing up opposing team’s actions next to Draymond Green – a pair of hyper-intelligent, switchable, lengthy defenders swallowing up opponents’ pick-and-roll attacks. Theoretically, in lineups with Green at center, Wagner’s size but versatility on both ends could be the key to unlocking Warrior small-ball lineups – he’d be strong enough to hold his own against bigger teams while sealing in the post if opponents tried to go small.
This all sounds fantastic, of course, but the downside to Wagner is his athleticism and overall lack of upside. He doesn’t jump out of the gym like a Bouknight or Kuminga and lacks their overall scoring ability – he’s more of a high-floor, lower-ceiling prospect.
But GM Bob Myers has indicated he doesn’t want to take extremely raw prospects in this draft.
“We would like this draft pick, whether it’s seven or 14, to come in and play,” Myers said, per Goldberg.
In that case, this Wagner-to-the-Warriors buzz could be very real, and give Golden State a piece to help towards a championship push from day one.