There’s arguably no better player in the NBA than LeBron James when it comes to elevating the level of play of his teammates. And since James is now with the Los Angeles Lakers, that distinct talent of his is expected to manifest right away on the court. Among the players whom Lakers scouting director Jesse Buss is excited to see play a big role on the team with James in tow is rookie big man and Michigan Wolverines product Moe Wagner.
In an interview with Lakers reporter Mike Trudell, Buss mentioned that Wagner’s skill set, particularly his ability to stretch the floor, will fit just right with James’ style of play.
Buss: “Yea, because he’s our only guy that can play the five position that can stretch the floor the way he did in college. He didn’t shoot as well in Summer League, but that was a small sample size, of course. I think that’s a natural fit right there. Obviously, LeBron has had a tremendous amount of success having shooters around him in his career. It just gives us a lot of different options, with a lot of bigs who can do different things.”
Moe Wagner was taken 25th overall in last June’s NBA Draft to the bewilderment of not a few Purple and Gold diehards. However, Wagner does appear to be a perfect complement for James, who has always found plenty of success when operating alongside knockdown shooters.
In his third and final year in Ann Arbor, the seven-foot German excelled at being a spot-up shooter. He shot 39.4 percent from deep with 95.2 percent of his 3-pointers coming off of assists, per Hoop-Math. Wagner led the Wolverines to the NCAA title game, though, they lost to the Villanova Wildcats in the finals.
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