Any Wagner fans still left?
A) Playing just 6.9 MPG and is the unathletic defensive sieve I expected.
B) Even more telling than his on-court "production" is that his name is nowhere to be found in the Pelicans-Lakers trade talks when half the roster has been named. Very indicative of his perceived value across the league, as even if the Pelicans don't value him, he could be flipped to someone who does. However, looks like that doesn't exist.
I like him. If I were the Pelicans I would put more stock in Wagner than in Zubac. Especially since Zubac is a free agent this summer.
But it's not just the Pelicans, it's his value across the league. Fairly sure, if another team had interest in Wagner they would contact the Pelicans and tell them to get him in the package and they'll send them something for him. So basically giving the Pelicans something for nothing. It's obvious this isn't happening because there isn't any interest in Wagner.
People were hyping him based on NCAA success and that strategy (see Kaminsky, Napier, etc.) has failed time and time again.
I was not a major supporter of his pro potential despite (or more arguably) because of my being a Michigan fan, and having watched dozens of his college games. On the defensive end, the game moved too quickly for him and he got caught in bad positions.
That said, your assertion above regarding offers to New Orleans is highly overstated. If the Pelicans demanded Wagner over Zubac, that would obviously not be an impediment to a Davis trade. However, if the rumors we’ve heard are true, that the Pelicans really haven’t made an actual counter offer, then you would never hear that New Orleans prefer Wagner over Zubac, because that isn’t the hold up of the deal, but rather it’s the package as a total, regardless of Mo’s inclusion or not.
Wagner needs to go to a team with good defensive coaching and the available playing time to let him get his reps in. It’s not the technique or the effort, but rather the awareness, reaction, and decision-making that makes him a real liability on defense, and the only way to improve that is to give him minutes. He did improve between and during his final two seasons in school with such playing time. In Boston, however, that would not be an option, and so we should not pursue him.