In this desert of defeat, he is an oasis of optimism.
In this ocean of uncertainty, he is a buoy of belief.
In this decade of darkness, Franz Wagner is a glowing glimmer of light.
“There are lot of reasons for Magic fans to be hopeful about the future,” Wagner said Wednesday morning.
And the main reason is Wagner himself, the Orlando Magic forward who was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month earlier this week and has surprisingly emerged as one of the top newcomers in the league.
Let’s be honest, it’s hard for many downtrodden Magic fans to get excited about a rebuilding team with the worst record in the NBA and a franchise that has lost more games than any team in the league over the last decade. However, Wagner — at least so far — looks like he has a chance to develop into something special.
Wagner is just the eighth player in franchise history to be named the league’s Rookie of the Month, joining illustrious names such as Shaq, Penny, Dennis Scott, Mike Miller and Victor Oladipo. He leads all NBA rookies in scoring this season (15.9 points per game) and is sixth in assists and eighth in rebounds.
Not bad for a guy who was considered “the other” first-round pick on draft night in July. While Magic fans were celebrating Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs “falling” to the Magic at No. 5 overall, little did they know that Wagner, the 6-foot-10 Michigan forward who was taken with the No. 8 overall pick, would have a much greater impact as a rookie.
Of course, it’s much too soon to make a judgment on either player less than halfway through their first NBA season, especially the athletically gifted Suggs, who’s been out with a broken thumb. However, there’s no doubt Wagner passes the eye test even for us amateur talent evaluators. He looks like so much more than just a player padding his stats on a bad team.
Even though he’s just a rookie, he is the consummate professional. He shows up early, stays late and watches tons of film. He always is moving without the ball. He can shoot. He can create. He can pass. He can handle the ball. During the 14 games in December, he averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.14 steals while shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range and 88.9 percent from the free throw line.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley raves about Wagner’s “demeanor, professionalism and attention to detail.” Says Mosley: “The one thing that stands out most is his competitive nature and finding ways to get things done both offensively and defensively. He studies so much and his basketball IQ is so high, when you add that on top of that competitive nature, you can just see he wants to be great.”
Greatness, of course, is what this organization has been waiting for since Dwight Howard’s departure. Through the years, we’ve seen Magic fans get excited about other young draft picks such as Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Jonathan Isaac. They all showed promise at one time or another, but none of them has reached greatness.
And that’s why the Magic blew up their roster last year, traded their only all-star in Nikola Vucevic and are trying one more rebuild in hopes that they can finally find a young superstar to build around. The previous management team failed miserably at its rebuild and now the current management team of Jeff Weltman and John Hammond are trying their hand at “the process.”
Of course, we all know how the process goes: You become terrible in the hopes of becoming great. You tear down your roster, lose a bunch a games, acquire a bunch of draft picks and young players and then hope one or two of those draft picks/young players develop into stars. The process takes time and patience and there are no guarantees.
And so, Magic fans must reach down within themselves to find ways to stay positive and engaged. They tell themselves there are reasons to be optimistic.
Reasons like:
— The Magic will have three first-round picks in the next two drafts, and six first-round picks in the next four drafts.
— Despite all the losses, Mosley is developing the young talent and has the team playing hard.
— Young point guard Cole Anthony has shown pizazz and panache both on and off the court.
— Young big Wendell Carter Jr. looks like he can be a solid contributor for years to come.
— If Isaac and Markelle Fultz come back completely healthy from their knee injuries, then the Magic’s roster instantly becomes exponentially better.
Of course, the biggest reason for Magic fans to be optimistic is the player that Taco Bob — the legendary local rock ‘n’ roll deejay on WJRR-FM — compares to one of the coolest characters in American TV history. Taco has taken to referring to Franz Wagner as “The Franz” (pronounced Fronz), a reference to “The Fonz” from the classic 1970s sitcom.
Ironically, the name of the show was “Happy Days” — a long, lost nostalgia that Magic fans hope The Franz can help bring back to their beleaguered franchise.
