If the Celtics are going to keep themselves in the championship conversation this season, the front office may not have much choice but to swing big. That’s the reality Brad Stevens has been living in Boston: keep the roster pointed toward winning, even when the league’s second-apron rules make every move harder to pull off.
That’s why a player like Franz Wagner has been floated as a possibility. Bleacher Report recently pointed to the Orlando forward as a fit, even if the Magic don’t appear eager to move a 25-year-old who put up 20.6 points per game last season and 24.2 the year before.
“At 25 years old, Wagner perhaps hasn't reached his peak, which is an exciting thought for someone with this much size (6'10", 220 lbs) and skill.
“That said, he has had trouble staying on the court of late (94 games over the past two seasons), he could be prohibitively expensive in both trade assets and salary, and teams with ball-dominant stars could wonder whether they'd encounter some of the same issues he's had fitting with Banchero,” Bleacher Report wrote.
The appeal is obvious enough. Wagner is not the cleanest shooting answer for Boston, and 3-point accuracy has been the concern. He shot below 30% from deep in both the 2024-25 season and the 2023-24 season.
But there’s also a reason teams would still look past that. Wagner has never shied away from taking threes, averaging 4.5 attempts per game across his six-year career. And if he can bring that number into a more efficient range, the fit gets a lot more interesting.
The source material points to 34% from three on 4.1 attempts per game in 2025-26 as the kind of mark that would change the equation. At that point, his age and skill set could make him a piece that opens a longer championship window in Boston, especially alongside Jayson Tatum.
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For Boston, the challenge is as much about pace as it is about personnel. The Celtics added Mitchell Robinson in free agency, but they still have to show they can keep the Knicks from dictating the terms, whether that means tightening up at the arc or getting into their offense before New York settles in. Early-season games do not decide anything, but this one should say a lot about how ready Boston is to answer a team it could not fully solve a year ago. [Read more 🡒]