The Detroit Pistons could find another draft gem in their own backyard
By Ethan Wolfe
Detroit Pistons: Franz Wagner could complement Saddiq Bey
Wagner has a similar body type to Saddiq Bey, but his offensive arsenal has the potential to be boundless.
Yes, he has vastly improved his outside shooting from 31 to 35 percent this year, but he prefers to put the ball on the floor. Wagner can navigate through the paint and finish utilizing his long wingspan.
How Saddiq Bey could win Rookie of the Year. light. Related Story
His awareness has taken a leap, too. As a more potent threat on offense, Wagner is better at seeing the floor and kicking out on drives when the shot isn’t available.
His assist rate — percentage of how many teammates field goals are assisted while he’s on the floor — took a massive 12.3-percent leap. This could be a byproduct of improvements to the offense, though.
Wagner perhaps has demonstrated the most growth on the defensive end. There are still a number of situations he can find himself flat-footed, but he doesn’t get beat off the dribble too often.
He is switchable on any ball-handler and has gained some weight to better acquit himself when defending down low. His defensive box plus-minus has already jumped from 3.8 to 6.0 this year.
Even though he and Bey have some similarities, their offensive games complement each other, as Bey is a spot-up shooter and Wagner can get to the rim and finish.