Moritz Wagner set to return to Magic on one-year deal
Wagner, the brother of Magic forward Franz Wagner, will sign a contract worth US$5-million, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal likely will not be finalized until the league's offseason moratorium on moves is lifted Sunday.
Free agency officially started Monday and most deals that have been agreed to since then — along with some trades from last month, including the one that will bring Kevin Durant to Houston from Phoenix — can begin getting final approval from the league at that time as well.
There are several notable free agents still available. Among them:
— Injured guard Damian Lillard, who is available after the surprise waive-and-stretch move by Milwaukee that allowed the Bucks to agree to terms with former Indiana forward Myles Turner. Lillard isn't expected to play much, if at all, this season because he still needs at least several months to recover from an Achilles tendon tear suffered in the playoffs.
— Veteran center Al Horford, who helped Boston win the 2024 NBA title and is 62 games away from reaching 1,200 for his career.
— Point guard Russell Westbrook, who is set to enter his 18th year in the league and someone who averaged 13.3 points per game with Denver this past season.
— Point guard Chris Paul, who turned 40 in May and would be playing a 21st season in the league. He's coming off a year when he started all 82 games for San Antonio.
— There's also the question surrounding Golden State restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, who has been mentioned frequently in potential sign-and-trades that could send him to a new club.
Moritz Wagner tore his ACL in a game in December and has hopes of being ready for the start of this coming season. The Magic earlier declined an option to bring him back on a deal that would have paid US$11-million this year, and the backup center wound up taking less money to remain in Orlando — a team with serious hopes of contending in the Eastern Conference.
The Magic added Desmond Bane in a trade with Memphis last month, landed guard Tyus Jones earlier in free agency and are expected to give Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, an extension this summer — one that likely will be in the range of nearly US$240-million for five years and would represent the biggest contract in franchise history.
Moritz Wagner was averaging a career-best 12.9 points through 30 games last season when he got hurt. He played for Germany's team that won the 2023 Basketball World Cup and was with his national team again for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
He is entering his eighth NBA season and what will be his fifth full year with the Magic.
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