Isaac Bonga and Moritz (aka Moe) Wagner are getting a fresh start with the Washington Wizards after they were dealt by the Los Angeles Lakers in the three-team Anthony Davis deal.
Both players only spent one year with the Lakers, playing a combined 65 games.
With the re-tooling of the Wizards roster this offseason, Bonga and Wagner could find themselves contributing to the team throughout the upcoming season.
Wagner is a 6’11” (2.11 m) big man who can stretch the floor and knock down threes, which fits right into today’s NBA, while Bonga is a 6’8″ (2.03 m) swingman who has been labeled as a point-forward.
Wagner will get the opportunity to play with fellow big man Thomas Bryant.
The two played against each other in college, so they are pretty familiar with one another’s game.
Without John Wall for most, if not all of next season, recently signed Isaiah Thomas and Ish Smith will soak up the majority of the minutes at point guard, but Bonga could have the opportunity to learn from the two players and even get some minutes alongside them.
Both Bonga and Wagner continue to get more experience, as they are currently playing with the Wizards summer league team.
Bonga, who is only 19 and Wagner 22, are both German and have represented Germany at some point in their career.
Bonga played at the 2014 and 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, as well as the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup where he averaged 6.6 points per game, helping Germany to a fifth place finish.
He was eventually named to the senior men’s national team for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers and made his debut in a game against Serbia.
Wagner on the other hand, has only played for Germany on two occasions: the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship (Division B) and the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
Both players have expressed interest in playing for Germany in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, so time will tell if they are named to Germany’s preliminary roster.
