Franz Wagner is one of the core pieces of a Magic team on the rise, one that won 47 games and was the No. 5 seed last season, so the Orlando Magic locked him up.
Wagner agreed to a five-year, $224 million max contract extension to stay with Orlando, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and confirmed by other reports. That sum could rise to almost $270 million if Wagner makes an All-NBA team next season.
His brother, Moe Wagner — who just signed his own two-year, $22 million extension with the Magic — celebrated Franz’s signing in the most brotherly way possible.
Moe Wagner reacts on Instagram to his younger brother agreeing to a max rookie contract extension with the #Magic:
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) July 5, 2024
“This guy is a NBA Max player … Insanity” pic.twitter.com/7Cqv12Fk9l
Wagner, along with Paolo Banchero, is at the heart of the Magic’s offense and shot creation. Wagner averaged 19.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game last season for Orlando and had seven 30+ point games. He does not space the floor but knows how to get downhill and is fierce in transition.
The Magic have played hardball, waited a year to extend Wagner and seen if they could have gotten him to take less than the max, but that’s not how a franchise treats its cornerstone players. Maxing them out is how you show respect. Wagner needs to answer that respect by growing his game, developing his 3-point shot, and proving he is a franchise cornerstone worth a max deal.
