Earlier this summer, Magic forward Franz Wagner served as a camp counselor at an Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy.
On Sunday morning, Wagner ran his own youth basketball camp a bit closer to downtown Orlando.
The German forward, in partnership with FlexWork Sports, hosted around 100 children at the Game Point Events Center, where he had the chance to work with the youngsters on and off the court.
“It’s really important,” Wagner said about hosting a camp in Orlando. “Obviously, I’ve been here awhile now so I want to connect with the community in that way. Sometimes at games you don’t get that time with a lot of these kids. So, it’s a really cool thing.”
Wagner has been back in Central Florida for almost a month while ramping up for the start of the Magic training camp Tuesday at the AdventHealth Training Center.
It’s been a busy summer for Wagner, who spent a lot of time in his home country of Germany while seeing friends and family.
He’s gotten to know new Magic coach Sean Sweeney, who was officially hired at the start of June after the franchise fired Jamahl Mosley. For Wagner and a number of teammates, including Paolo Banchero, Sweeney will be the second NBA head coach they’ve played for after five years with Mosley.
“When I was in Europe, (Sweeney) called me like every week, which I thought was awesome, just to chop it up really,” Wagner said. “He had certain things he wanted to talk about. The first thing is, he’s very direct (with) communication. He’s very honest (and) says what he feels. It’s going to be a lot of changes from how we do things. All good stuff.”
“So, I’m really excited to see what this new staff brings to the table,” Wagner added. “It’s going to be interesting how we react to it as a group. Obviously, we had the same coach for the last five years. It’s going to be some change and some adjustments for us, how we’re being coached, and that’s where growth comes in. So, I’m excited for that.”
Wagner also spent the offseason getting healthy again. He exited Game 4 of Orlando’s first-round playoff series against Detroit because of a right calf strain and didn’t return to the court because of it. His absence shifted the series. After the Magic took a 3-1 lead over the Pistons, they lost three straight games without Wagner.
Prior to the right calf strain, Wagner had missed a combined 48 games because of a left high ankle sprain that required multiple attempts to return.
“I was honestly still rehabbing the other injury, so I think that was just a consequence of my first injury,” he said of the calf strain.
Wagner took an additional two-three weeks to rehab the calf strain after the season ended before taking some time off to decompress. He said it was “six weeks probably” after Orlando was eliminated before he was really moving fast on the court.
There was a mental toll from the season as well.
“People don’t understand sometimes as much as it’s physical, sometimes mental stress and just the season and everything that comes with it, can hinder some of those processes,” Wagner said. “So, it was really good for me to not have that (and) decompress for a little bit. That made the healing process for my body a lot easier as well.”
Magic forward Franz Wagner leans down to talk to a young camper at the Game Point Events Center on Sunday morning in Orlando. (Jason Beede/Orlando Sentinel)
Healthy again and ready to start a new season, Wagner took time to reflect on his first five years in the league.
This upcoming season will be his first as a pro not playing alongside older brother Moe, who signed with the Brooklyn Nets this summer.
“I think that in of itself is going to be a lot,” Wagner said about no longer having his brother as a teammate. “It’s a lot of fun, too, though. I’ve changed a lot and grown a lot in my time here. It’s kind of crazy to look back on it now; it’s already been five years going onto six. I’m really happy I’ve gotten the opportunity to develop like that here.”
“With all that being said, though, we’ve got a new opportunity here,” Wagner added. “That upwards momentum with the new staff, I’m really excited to hopefully turn another page and find some new levels as a group.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com