At the 2018 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Moritz Wagner with the No. 25 pick, but he was ruled out the entire preseason due to a left knee contusion.
As Wagner has been making progress and was recently assigned to the South Bay Lakers on rehab assignment, the Lakers are in need of a backup center through seven games of the 2018-19 NBA season.
While Wagner is still a rookie and needs to get into game shape, he showed plenty of potential at Summer League. In six games at Sacramento and Las Vegas, the 21-year-old averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 21.7 minutes.
With the Lakers currently 2-5 and facing the Dallas Mavericks, Wagner will be active for the first time, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic:
Moe Wagner will be active for the Lakers tonight against the Mavericks.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) October 31, 2018
As JaVale McGee and Johnathan Williams have played most of the minutes at center, head coach Luke Walton is hoping he will be able to play Wagner some minutes:
Luke Walton said it will depend on how the game plays out whether Wagner will play. The “ideal” scenario would be some garbage time minutes for him to knock the rust off. But for a team woefully undersized, this is a welcome development.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) October 31, 2018
Although Wagner did not shoot well at Summer League, he is an active stretch-five that should eventually find himself in Walton’s rotation. As the Lakers are tied for 16th in rebounding (45.3) and have given up the fifth-most offensive rebounds (12.6), having another seven-footer should alleviate some problems.
After giving up 20 offensive rebounds in a four-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Walton has emphasized not leaking out for fastbreak opportunities. While the Lakers want to play fast, they need to close out possessions and defend without fouling.
