The Orlando Magic have gotten off to a 2-7 start, which is something that should get the Detroit Pistons’ attention.
After nearly beating the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, there was hope in Orlando that a new coach would remedy their offensive issues. That hope was squashed quickly by an early injury to Paolo Banchero that could keep him out for the entire month of November, as well as an injury to Jalen Suggs that will have him out for several weeks.
Even when Banchero was healthy, there were question marks around the pairing with former University of Michigan forward Franz Wagner, so if the Magic are still busted in the standings by the time Banchero returns, they may decide it’s as good as time as any to break this duo up and trade one of their stars.
The Magic have one of the most expensive rosters in the league (and still have to sign Anthony Black) and currently top out as a play-in team, so if this continues, someone is getting traded.
If they do offer up Banchero or Wagner, there will be plenty of interested teams. One of them should be the Detroit Pistons, as Wagner would solve a couple of problems for them.
Franz Wagner is a creator and the power forward of the future
The Pistons have a couple of roster issues that Wagner would immediately solve. They don’t have a long-term answer at power forward yet, as John Collins’ deal isn’t guaranteed past this season, and he’s struggled so far with Jalen Duren out.
Wagner is signed for three more seasons after this one, so the Pistons would have their long-term core fully in place and would have a window of title contention open for the foreseeable future.
Detroit also needs a secondary creator and scorer, which Wagner also satisfies, as he’s a 20ppg scorer who is averaging a career-high 8.8 assists per game as the primary offensive initiator for Orlando this season.
Wagner isn’t a good 3-point shooter, but he’s a legit second option who you can run your offense through. There would potentially be spacing concerns, but Detroit now has better shooters to offset those concerns, so while Wagner isn’t a perfect fit, he’d be a tough cover as a second option next to Cade.
What would it take to trade for Franz Wagner?
Ahhh, this is the catch, as it would likely take most of the Pistons’ trade assets to get Wagner, and he is owed a ton of money, especially for a guy who has already missed plenty of games due to injury in his career.
Wagner is owed over $142 million in the next three seasons after this one, so the Pistons would be going all in if they did add him.
They’d likely have to send at least John Collins, Ron Holland and one other player just to match salary, and that’s before the 4-5 first-round picks the Magic would likely demand.
It would be a risky move for Detroit, who can only make this type of trade once, so they have to get it right.
If the Magic continue to stink and Wagner is eventually traded, Detroit would at least have to consider it.
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