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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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Rising fourth-year Orlando Magic small forward Franz Wagner inked a maximum-salaried five-season rookie salary contract extension to stay with the team long-term, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The 6-foot-10 Michigan product's new deal is projected to pay him at least $224 million, and could pay him closer to $269 million, should he make an All-NBA team. The new deal will kick off during the 2025-26 season.
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Wagner, 22, was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Magic, using a selection the team acquired in its hilariously lopsided deal to offload former All-Star center Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls, a deal that has gotten Chicago to exactly one playoff series in four seasons.
More news: Bulls Finally Looking to Trade Multi-Time All-Star, Under One Condition
Across 72 healthy games in 2023-24, Wagner posted splits of 19.7 points on a .482/.281/.850 slash line (that 28.1 percent three point rate represents a massive dip from his conversion percentages of 35.4 percent as a rookie in 2021-22 and 36.1 percent in 2022-23), 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 dimes, and 1.1 steals a night for an ascendant Magic club.
This past season, Orlando reached the playoffs for the first time during Wagner's tenure (his third pro season), improving to a 47-35 overall record (the team's top tally since its final Dwight Howard season in 2010-11) and the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Ultimately, the Magic fell in a hard-fought, seven-game first round playoff series to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wagner's unreliable 3-point shooting came under more intense scrutiny in the postseason, as he allowed Cavaliers defenders to sag off him while making just 26.5 percent of his 4.9 shot attempts from beyond the arc.
Sources informed Wojnarowski that Wagner's agent, Jason Glushon, finalized the agreement during the 4th of July holiday. Glushon really earned his commission on this one.
Wagner's older brother, backup stretch five center Moritz, reportedly agreed to a lucrative two-season, $22 million contract to return to the Magic earlier this week. The 6-foot-11 Moritz Wagner, 27, has emerged as a solid backup big after arriving to Orlando by way of the Boston Celtics in a trade midway through the 2020-21 season. Last year, in 80 games (one start), Moritz averaged 10.9 points on .601/.330/.814 shooting splits, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, during 17.7 minutes per.
Prior to Franz Wagner's pricey new contract, the addition of a slick new 3-and-D swingman, two-time champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was the headline of the Magic's offseason. The 6-foot-5 Georgia product is reportedly joining the Magic on a three-season, $66 million deal after departing the Denver Nuggets.
Another lottery pick from Wagner's 2021 draft class, All-Defensive Second Team Magic guard Jalen Suggs, is also extension-eligible, although he has yet to agree to a deal with the club as of this writing.
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