Magic's Moritz Wagner: Out for season with torn ACL
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Wagner was diagnosed Sunday with a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee following an MRI, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
Wagner went down with a non-contact knee injury after playing only two minutes in Saturday's win over Miami. With his MRI revealing ligament damage to his knee, the big man will soon head in for surgery and spend the rest of the season recovering. After re-signing with Orlando over the summer on a one-year, $11 million deal that includes an $11 million team option for 2025-26, the 27-year-old appeared in 30 games and averaged a career-high 12.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks across 18.8 minutes per game. Wagner's absence for the rest of the season could result in Jonathan Isaac logging more time at center when Goga Bitadze and Wendell Carter are off the court.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Won't return Saturday
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Wagner (knee) has been ruled out for the remainder of Saturday's game against Miami, Cody Taylor of USA Today reports. He didn't record any counting stats over two minutes prior to exiting.
Wagner sustained a non-contact left knee injury and will undergo further testing to determine the specifics and severity of the injury. Jonathan Isaac and Caleb Houstan are the likeliest candidates for increased roles sans Wagner. Wagner's next chance to play will come Monday against Boston.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Suffers non-contact injury
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Wagner was helped off the floor during Saturday's game against the Heat after sustaining a non-contact knee injury, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Wagner wasn't able to put much, if any, weight on his left leg while being helped back to the locker room. Considering the non-contact nature of the injury, Wagner should be considered doubtful to return. Jonathan Isaac and Caleb Houstan could see more action while Wagner is sidelined while Wendell Carter could see more minutes at center.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Notches career-high 32 points
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Wagner supplied 32 points (10-15 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 8-11 FT), six rebounds, one assist and two steals in 26 minutes during Sunday's 100-91 loss to the Knicks.
Wagner caught fire in Sunday's loss, posting a new career-high mark of 32 points. He also tied his career-best mark of four three-pointers, something he's now done five different times. Wagner is heating up and could continue to provide consistent streaming value while Paolo Banchero (oblique) and Franz Wagner (oblique) rehab their injuries.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Scores 13 in 19 minutes
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Wagner registered 13 points (6-6 FG, 1-1 3Pt), three rebounds, one assist and one steal across 19 minutes during Tuesday's 114-109 loss to the Bucks.
Wagner has reached double figures in six straight games, but his workloads remain fairly low. In that span, he's averaging 20.0 minutes per contest with 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 three-pointers. He's been a viable streamer to open December.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Best game of season Tuesday
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Wagner supplied 20 points (7-13 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 5-9 FT), 12 rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals in 28 minutes during Tuesday's 121-106 loss to the Knicks.
With Goga Bitadze (ankle) a late scratch, Wagner had his best performance of the season Tuesday by a wide margin, notching his first double-double of the campaign while also setting new season-high marks in points and rebounds. Despite coming off the bench, Wagner has been a consistent performer in the Magic's frontcourt. He's scored in double digits in all but one of his last eight contests, a span in which he's averaging 14.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Nears double-double off bench
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Wagner supplied 12 points (5-9 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal over 16 minutes during Sunday's 100-92 victory over Brooklyn.
Wagner provided a nice lift off Orlando's bench in Sunday's win, leading all second-unit players in scoring and rebounds while also recording a team-high-tying pair of blocks in a near double-double outing. Wagner tied a season high in rebounds, and he's now reached double figures in scoring in six of his last seven contests.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Comes close to double-double
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Wagner contributed 16 points (7-10 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 1-4 FT), eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in 26 minutes during Monday's 95-84 win over the Hornets.
With Wendell Carter (foot) sidelined and Goga Bitadze starting, Wagner has been playing at a high level off the bench in recent games, and his consistency as a second-unit threat makes him a solid streaming option in some formats, particularly category-based leagues. Wagner has scored in double digits in all but one of his previous 11 appearances, averaging 14.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Sets season highs in win
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Wagner closed Thursday's 119-118 win over the Lakers with 19 points (7-13 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 4-5 FT), five rebounds, four assists and one block in 18 minutes.
Wagner set season highs in both scoring and assists while hitting the double-digit points mark for the eighth time in his last 10 appearances. The big man has played a significant role off the bench through 17 regular-season outings, and in his last five contests, he has averaged 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists across 17.0 minutes per game.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Efficient off bench Tuesday
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Wagner accumulated 18 points (5-7 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 6-6 FT), five rebounds, one assist and two steals in 24 minutes during Tuesday's 114-89 win over the Hornets.
Wagner continues to make the most of his minutes off the bench, and he's thriving as a scoring option in the second unit. He's scored in double digits in five of his last six games off the bench, averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 50.9 percent from the field in that span.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Productive off bench Friday
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Wagner finished Friday's 115-88 win over the Pelicans with 17 points (8-11 FG, 1-1 3Pt), four rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.
Wagner delivered more points than Goga Bitadze, who was the starting center in Friday's win, but it's unclear if that will be enough to steal the starting job away from the 25-year-old. Wagner has been productive as a scorer and has recorded double-digit points in four of his last five appearances, shooting 51.2 percent from the field in that span.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Decent line but poor shooting
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Wagner registered 10 points (3-10 FG, 0-4 3Pt, 4-4 FT) and six rebounds over 20 minutes during Sunday's 108-85 loss to the Mavericks.
Wagner ended up with a decent stat line, though he had one of his worst shooting performances of the campaign. The Magic are extremely thin in terms of frontcourt depth, with Wendell Carter (foot) and Goga Bitadze (foot) being questionable for Monday's matchup at Oklahoma City, so it wouldn't be surprising if Wagner gets the nod in the starting lineup in that contest. For what is worth, Wagner scored in double digits in three of his last four contests, averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest in that span.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Late addition to starting lineup
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Wagner is in the starting five for Friday's game versus the Cavaliers, Spencer Davies of SI.com reports.
Wagner will replace Wendell Carter (knee) in the starting lineup Friday. Across his first five appearances this season, Wagner is averaging 11.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes but should see an uptick in playing time against Cleveland.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Pops for 18 points in win
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Wagner recorded 18 points (7-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 3-4 FT), three rebounds, one block and one steal in 15 minutes during Friday's 116-101 victory over the Nets.
Wagner caught fire off the bench, scoring a season-high 18 points. Wagner has the ability to flash some offensive upside, making him a name to watch, even in standard formats. While the offensive output was encouraging, he still played only 15 minutes. As long as he is serving as the backup to Wendell Carter, Wagner is going to find it hard to put up consistent value.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Solid outing in Olympic loss
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Wagner posted 16 points (7-14 FG, 2-6 3Pt), four rebounds, one assist and one block across 24 minutes in Saturday's 93-83 loss by Germany to Serbia in the bronze medal game of the Paris Olympics.
Wagner produced his highest scoring outing of the Paris Olympics in this game, but it was not enough to lift the team past Nikola Jokic and Serbia. The 27-year-old Wagner was not asked to do much in the scoring department alongside Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder, but he did shoot an efficient 52.5 percent from the field during the Paris Olympics. In six Olympic appearances, Wagner averaged 9.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists across 17.0 minutes per game.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Suiting up for Germany
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Wagner is on the German national team's roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Wagner is coming off a strong 2023-24 campaign for the Magic in which he averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.7 minutes across 80 regular-season appearances. For Germany, Wagner should be one of the team's primary options in the frontcourt alongside Daniel Theis.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Returns to Magic on two-year deal
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Wagner agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal with the Magic on Tuesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
The Magic declined Wagner's team option on Saturday, but the sides agreed on a new deal to bring him back for two more seasons. The 27-year-old averaged a career-high 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.5 steals across 17.7 minutes last year over 80 regular-season games. Moreover, Wagner shot a career-high 60.1 percent from the field.
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Moritz Wagner: To become free agent
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The Magic declined Wagner's $8 million team option for the 2024-25 season on Saturday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Despite this move by the Magic, Wojnarowski reports that there is mutual interest to negotiate a fresh deal in free agency. Wagner made 80 appearances for the Magic last season, posting averages of 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.5 three-pointers in 17.7 minutes per contest.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Modest production continues
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Wagner ended with seven points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal across 15 minutes during Saturday's 112-89 victory over Cleveland in Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Wagner has averaged 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 16.8 minutes through the first four games of the opening-round series against the Cavaliers. The Magic's rotation was basically cut to nine players Saturday, with Wagner, Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac all playing at least 15 minutes off the bench.
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Magic's Moritz Wagner: Leads bench in scoring vs. 76ers
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Wagner provided 17 points (7-7 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 18 minutes during Friday's 125-113 loss to Philadelphia.
Wagner has now scored in double digits in two of his last three games. He's averaging 17.7 minutes per game this season, but with Wendell Carter leaving Friday's game due to back spasms, Wagner could see extended playing time in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Bucks.
