New 2018 ESPN NBA Mock Draft: Wagner in 2nd Round
Mo Wagner going 2nd round (#49) to Jazz
Also of B1G interest:
Jaren Jackson 4th Overall to Magic
Miles Bridges 12th to 76ers
Keita Bates-Diop 17th to Pacers
Tony Carr 41st to Pistons
Vince Edwards 53rd to Hornets
Strange but with JJJ going 4th overall I did not see Ben Carter in the Top 3. Assume that ESPN will have this fixed right away
March 20th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
I would say Brooks or Watson. All signs are pointing to Brooks be passed by Dejuilius right away(do they redshirt Nunez?) and Watson looks like he is behind Matthews and Poole with a good Freshman class coming in.
March 20th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
Huh, why would you say DeJulius has passed Brooks? Both were prolific scorers at PG at smaller schools I thought. Brooks had a legit Nova offer which is a good sign. Simmons leaves so there is plenty of minutes at back up PG, plus there's mintues at the 2 for some scorers. Belien has often pushed a PG to the two and run two PG line-ups. I just don't think they have the personel to do it this year.
I guess because Dejulius seems to be more in the mold of an off the dribble shooter that seems to be all the rage ala Steph Curry. We all know Beilein loves him some shooters.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
We don't have a scholarship for someone. I'd be surprised if it's Mo who'd be on the outside looking in, if he wants to continue here.
March 20th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
a GoFundMe for MGoPoints?
March 20th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
I sincerely hope that he makes it in the NBA, but if he does not there is still decent money to be made in Europe. Plus, he'd be closer to home.
March 20th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
The ESPN mock draft is killing it this year. Solid info.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
This is dead accurate. Mo isn't an NBA-caliber talent because of his athletic / defensive limitations but he'll pull down a mid-six-figures salary in Europe for a decade.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
A lot of Michigan fans are worried about the NBA draft, but Mo can put his hat in the mix, and if he doesn't make can easily fall back in Europe, where he's comfortable and his game fits quite well.
I don't think borderline 1st/2nd, 2nd, or undrafted is really going to be the catalyst of Mo's decision, it's going to be if he wants to play one more year at Michigan or if he wants to start his pro career. And honesly, he's improved as a rebounder, he's rounded out some rough edges, but I don't think in his SR year he's going to improve to a 1st round pick. It may be in his best interests to go back to Europe. But I'd certainly love for him to stay.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
Has done nothing to help his draft stock. He has not gone the standard NCAA player route of being good during the season, going insane in the tournament and having your stock go through the roof to capitalize on the money.
I'm honestly 50/50 with him on whether or not he goes. If Michigan does somehow get the title this season, I think he'd go. But if they came up short, I can see him coming back. He seems to legimately love college.
He is who he is at this point. I don't see him adding new dimensions to his game with another year of work. He could shore up weaknesses and maybe stop being so loose with the ball on his drives.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:34 AM ^
He does seem to genuinely love it here. I couldn't believe that during the first MSU game it seemed like he was the person most into the rivalry, on either team. Someone who probably didn't even know MSU existed 4 years ago...
You know what they call people who didnt love college?
People who never went to college.
FI - was talking to my 13 year old yesterday about that very thing. Told him if I can have a four year do-over of any four year period in my life it would definitely be 1978-1981. Man was college fun.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
I thought the mock drafts had him higher last year before he decided to come back. That decision may cost him more than a $40 lunch.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
A big part of the Bridges saga that his killing him is that he came back to show he could be more than your 6'7 slasher and bruiser type and that he could make shots and create for himself. Unfortunately, every team they played showed that they wanted him to do that and he couldn't make them pay. I would not be shocked to see him fall out of the lottery. Why would anyone want a 6'7 forward who can't score consistenly away from the rim and is only a slightly above average big ten defender.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
He has all the physical tools to be great. He's explosive, he actually has a really nice looking shot that can be consistent in the NBA, he's not just tall and long, but also well built. He needs to improve his handle a bit, but he has a lot of tools to be a great NBA player. But he needs his mentality to click, otherwise he's a poor man's jump shooting Lebron. Coming back ain't gonna help him one iota.
If a poor man's Lebron wants to take the easy (and not often best) shots over and over, teams will gladly let him.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
He's closer to Draymond Green with a more refined offensive game but much worse on defense than he is lebron
March 20th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
Than style of play. And don't get me wrong, I don't think he's Lebron in that way either (no one is). Just that his game should be more like a Lebron than Nik Stauskas. I think he is more refined with his shot and technique than Green, but don't think he has either than handle or passing vision that Green does (or Lebron for that matter).
In the NBA, his role needs to be as a guy who can threaten from 3 and slash. More of a Jason Richardson type if we are using MSU comparables.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^
I don't see the Lebron comparison at all, even as a poor man's version. Lebron is the most physically dominating player of all time aside from Shaq, but also has an incredible ability to make plays with the ball in his hands. Bridges has just been a bruiser with a decent jump shot, and the problem is that he is 2 inches shorter than the lebrons of the world. He is 6'7 with the skills and ability of a standard power forward in the NBA. To me, that is a tough combination.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
That comparison was lost on me. Their skill sets are so vastly different. Miles is a jump shooter who likes to clean up around the rim. He's basically Josh Smith with a better shot.
LeBron can create from anywhere. He's incredibly clever around the rim when he has to be, and he can bowl people over. Miles can't, because his handle is horrible.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
I'm saying his build and athletic ability are in the same way as Lebron, and that's how he should focus his style of play. He needs to improve a lot as a player, and he'll never be as good as Lebron (not athletically or technically), but right now he's basically like a guy with similar tools as Lebron physically just wanted to shoot jump shots. If all less athletic Lebron did was shoot jump shots, every defense would be mostly fine with that, because it's not at all taking advantage of his physical abilities.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
If you are saying his build and athletic ability aren't in the same vein as LeBron, then it's not a good comparison. He doesn't have similar tools other than both dudes being strong. We could say that 85% of NBA players are poor LeBron's because they are muscular.
There are much better ones out there to compare Miles to.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Maybe I don't have a great feel for his game, but I thing his problem is that he doesn't score enough at the basket. He's a decent 3 pt shooter, and crazy athletic so can finish dunks with aplomb, and can finish when someone else sets him up, but he settles for a lot of pull up 2pt shots when he's on the ball. In the NBA those aren't as bad as in college, but he doesn't use his athleticism to cut through the defense with the ball and create his own shot at the rim. I kind of thought that's what he's missing.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
Maybe I misrepresented myself. I was saying that he got away from finishing at the rim this year, which was his clear strength last year IMO. He started to take a lot more long twos and threes which to me was his way of showing that he could do it, but often times was unsuccessful.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:01 AM ^
He's great at cleaning up around the rim and slamming it home.
He's not very good at taking it to the rim. That's really what would make him a great NBA player. His dribble is wonky and he seems to be in love with going baseline and gets cut off all the time.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^
I was out running errands and was listening for some local takes on MSU bombing out, because a dose of schadenfreude never hurt anyone. Anyway, I turned on the Huge Show (ducks), and Izzo came on for an interview (apparently Beilein was on earlier). I'll give Huge some credit, he didn't lob Izzo many softballs.
Huge was trying to get Tom to bite on JJJ and Bridges leaving, and Tom was kind of dodging the question, but he ended up taking the bait. The last question from Huge was "who is your starting 5 next year?" Izzo rattled off some names, said maybe JJJ, but made no mention of Bridges whatsoever. So I'm guessing he knows already that Miles is gone, FWIW.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
in a 5 out offense but he needs to go to the right team for it. He wont' be the starter because of his defense and lack of foot quickness. However, he is skilled and can shoot, drive and post up.
If he's a better defender, he might have a shot at getting drafted in late 1st round.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
If Mo continues to play the way he has in the NCAA tournament rather than BTT he's coming back becuase his stock will fall as scouts watch him on the big stage. If he can play well this week and get us to a Final Four he'd probably be considered a border first round pick and I'd assume he's gone at that point.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
I think Mo leaves this year no matter his draft grade. What else does he have to prove or grow from another year in college? His body isn't going to change that much. I think if he doesn't make it with an NBA team right now, he's probably pretty comfortable playing in Europe. I know the NBA is his dream and goal, and in Europe there's a greater comfort with kids who are good at sports getting their education soley in sports in pursuit of that career (i.e. play from a teenager in the employ of professional development academies). I don't think the UM degree means quite as much to him as it may mean to others who grew up in the US.
Also, I'm expecting Jaren Jackson to stay another year. As others have pointed out, his family is loaded so compensation may not be the driving force it is for others. Plus, Izzo has a great talent for under-developing 5 stars and convincing them they need another year to not develop some more.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Great offense, average defense. Not a knock, just a fact. He souldn't go to Europe
March 20th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
For both sides regarding the "what else can he improve?" line.
Those are typically the guys that end up staying a long time. He's made it this far as a junior, and he can't get much better. But with him, he's not being projected as a 1st rounder. He's the type of guy that loves college and Europe/G-League will be waiting for him next year.
He's not putting aside millions upon millions of dollars. He might struggle a little bit before hitting that payday. So why not do one more year at the school?
March 20th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
which he certainly did. If he can show the kind of improvement in his defense that Robinson managed, he would greatly improve his NBA prospects. That should seem like a realistic possibility to him.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
Mo will stay...seems like a pretty gounded kid who knows his limitations. He also seems to genuinely enjoy his M experience.
Don't really care about JJJ but a couple of my Sparty friends are saying his parents are really pissed about his PT.....they feel like he is on a much shorter leash than any of the others. Take that for what it's worth.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
I can imagine they are. Didn't his mom say she wanted him to do two years in college though to make sure he was ready for the grind of an NBA season? If I recall, he is young for his class. Like he just turned 18 before the season started or something.
I don't know, I just have a feeling he'll come back, because of course he would. If he doesn't, I have to think it's because they've lost confidence in Izzo.
for a scrub, Carter, against Cuse despite the fact he's 10000x better than him and is a projected top 5-8 pick in the NBA draft. Jaren needs to declare for the draft or risk lowering his draft stock by staying another year. He fits the new age C where he's long, athletic, can shoot and defend. It's a mystery on why Izzo don't play him more at C.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
Hiding Carter on the bench. Top 5 pick if he gets as many minutes as JJJ.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
He needs one more year in college.
March 20th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 12:45 PM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
don't see him as NBA rotation guy at this point. He's not a 5 in the league, as he doesn't provide rim protection and consistently gets bodied as a post defender by college level talent...........doesen't translate well to the NBA in terms of defense. With the NBA game trending more toward wing types at the PF spot, I just don't know that he can adequately defend any position (even bench players) at this point. NBA coaches are not intent to run sets to the same extent college teams do, much more focused on mismatches. I think Mo would be picked on relentlessly until his coach was forced to sub him out.
Offensively he's a one trick pony in the league, essentially a pick and pop PF. His handle is far to loose to attack closeouts at the NBA level, especially against non-centers. As a back to the basket option Wagner has decent footwork, but would consistently get bumped off his spots when fighting for position based on lack of strength/mass. He doesn't have the requisite explosion/verticality to be a good finisher at the NBA level either.
I think Wagner is a tremendous college player, I just don't necessarily think it translates to the NBA level absent a draft and stash approach from a team like the Spurs that will give him another 2-3 years to get development/reps overseas.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:00 AM ^
Wagner just doesn't have a fit in todays NBA. He can't handle playing the 5 on defense physically and doesn't have the foot speed to be a 4. And while his offense is good he doesn't create enough on his own to justify what he will be on defense. Hope to be wrong and love the guy at Michigan but wouldn't want my nba team to draft him
March 20th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
That he's frustrated and pissed in Izzo's system.
I don't think there's any chance he comes back.
Just think what JB would do with that kind of talent.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
Definitely, but at least Jordan Poole is there in the wings to step into that role. Just hope he can step up his defensive game.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
I'm sure Bridges is happy he came back to lose in the 2nd round and leave about $8MM on the table if he drops from a top-5 pick to a top-12.
I do wonder if Wagner has much more upside in college vis-a-vis his draft prospects. I don't see him getting demonstrably better in the eyes of scouts (he isn't going to get demonstrably more athletic), and he might as well get on a team and start developing into the player he can be. I thought Wilson left a year too early just because his offensive game needed some refining, but Wagner has made some big strides this year and another year in college probably won't change that.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 11:33 AM ^
March 20th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
If it were all about being deserving, LaVell Blanchard would have been a lottery pick.
March 20th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
of pro potential during the season, but he is too inconsistent in terms of making himself a presence as an offensive player at times. Michigan has avoided trying to get the ball down low to him on small player switches just because they don't want to turn the ball over in the passing game. So, we don't have a really great idea how consistent he could be as a true post player given that his role has been to draw his assignment away from the basket to better space the floor and set up drive and kick lanes, pick and roll, and pick and pop opportunities.
Michigan just doesn't work the low post game, so we really don't know effective Wagner could be in long stretches. So far, in the tournament, Wagner has been just below average, so his stock, if anything, has fallen in the draft.
I do believe that his desire to start his career or come back and enjoy his final college season of eligibility will be dictated by Michigan's journey in the tourney. Beilein's roster management will likely work itself out, just as it has in the recent past when the issues of who would go and who would stay was debated here. Who thought Wilson would leave after last year? Not me.
And if Michigan had him now, that would have made Wagner a different player with a different role on the team and perhaps his exit choice a lot clearer. To me, Wilson's departure given his quick development, was the worst blow to Michigan's rise this year. And I still feel that wa in spite of this terrific season. Imagine the Michigan defense with Wilson swatting balls away with Teske joining him in the post.