Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman believes Desmond Bane is the perfect fit for his team, according to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
“The guy is almost the player you would design if you could start from scratch,” Weltman said. “Because obviously we’ve spoken a lot about our need for shooting but we’ve also talked about playmaking and adding skill … Desmond is such a unique player because he’s one of the best shooters in the NBA, but he’s also a gifted playmaker and he generates shot-creation for himself and others. He creates advantages with and without the ball.”
In desperate need for more offense from the backcourt to complement high-scoring forward Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Weltman dug deep into the team’s assets to acquire Bane from the Grizzlies. He traded guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony, four first-round picks and a 2029 pick swap in order to acquire Bane.
Weltman believes Bane’s timeline fits in well with his young core and the loss of draft capital was offset by the possibility of Bane making the Magic one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.
“We feel that the other unique thing about a guy like Des being available to obtain in a trade is the fact that he’s just about to turn 27, so if we are a good team then we hope to be a good team for a while,” Weltman said. “Hopefully, we’ll have this group together for a long time wearing Magic uniforms. That will determine what the value of those picks are and some of this is what the NBA is about. It’s betting on yourself. It’s putting pressure on yourself and elevating your standard.”
Bane averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.2 steals this season while shooting 39.2% from 3 on 6.1 attempts. Orlando shot a league-low 31.8% from 3-point range and averaged the third-fewest points.
Weltman said that trade talks for Bane was a gradual process.
“We valued him very highly for a while,” Weltman said. “There are few guys in the league that if they become available, you’re going to be aggressive. When I stood here after the season, I honestly didn’t expect him to be available in these conversations. But when we learned about that as we did our laps around the league, we shifted gears and made it a priority for us.”
Bane’s contract could become an issue if the trade doesn’t work out as planned. He has four years left on his five-year, $197.2MM deal.
Huge risk in my opinion with what they gave up. I understand liking a guy but this isn’t Carmelo Anthony or Ray Allen this is Desmond Bane. I don’t see how he’s 4 pick better than KCP but hey if he comes out and averages 24 6 and 4 for the Magic I don’t know ball.
“if he comes out and averages 24 6 and 4 for the Magic I don’t know ball.”
Looking for a player to average a specific stat line to judge their value might be the reason you don’t know ball… (Bane literally averaged 24-4-6 in 2024)
These are the same people who still think Zach LaVine > Derrick White bc PPG… Using a career loser like Carmelo Anthony as an example is just icing.
Bane is a better Tyler Herro and they traded two bad contracts to get him.
Just to clarify further…. Bane’s individual stat line Does. Not. Matter. One. Bit.
His spacing & playmaking will greatly improve the efficiency of Paolo (55 TS% / 34 USG%) and Franz (56 TS% / 31 USG%).’
The Magic have been a bottom 20 Offensive team since 2012(!!!!!). When they were coached by SVG and Dwight Howard was still on the team.
Nobody talking about the defensive fit but Bane is perfect for their defensive scheme as well. He’s obv a great shooter but really he’s just a overall dog on the court. With the return of Suggs & Mo I fully expect Orlando to be 1 of the best teams in the league next season. The return of Suggs is gonna help Franz get easier shots which should raise his shooting efficiency.
Oh yeah. He and Suggs in the backcourt….nice defensively.
There’s no doubt it’s a huge haul to give up for Bane. I do think he is an awesome fit for the team and fits the window… and clearly Orlando is going all in right now. I like it when teams go for it like this, so I can’t complain.
Orlando’s problem last year was they didn’t have enough scoring once Paolo and Franz went down. But when your two best players go down hard for any team to replace production.
I thought Orlando should have swung a buy low deal for Beal while Paolo and Franz were injured to help with scoring but least they addressed this issue with Bane.