The Magic took a major gamble by trading for Desmond Bane, but Paolo Banchero believes the high-scoring guard is exactly what Orlando needs to be a serious contender in the East, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. The team sent a lot of assets to Memphis in return, parting with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round swap. Banchero has no doubt that Bane will be worth the high price.
“It’s a great fit for who we are as a team,” he said. “He adds what we’re missing, and he also adds to what we already have. It’s like the perfect match. We don’t have anybody who can make shots like him, who can kind of leverage the way he is able to make shots, then make plays for others and get downhill and create. He’s a Swiss Army knife just as a player, as a guard. He is stronger than 99 percent of the guards in the league with how he’s built. He’s going to fit into what we do.”
Bane tells Spears that he received a Father’s Day text from Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, along with a request to talk right away. Kleiman followed up by FaceTiming him to break the news of the trade. Even though Bane was caught by surprise after spending his first five NBA seasons in Memphis, he insists there’s “no bad blood at all” and he’s happy to be in a good situation in Orlando. He also regrets that the Grizzlies weren’t able to make a long playoff run while the foundation of the team was together.
“I feel like we never really got a chance to see what it would be like for a full season with our core and everybody healthy,” Bane said. “But you can only wait so long. In this business, you only got so many years to make something happen.”
There’s more from Orlando:
- Jamahl Mosely had Jalen Suggs and Moritz Wagner serve as coaches during Wednesday’s scrimmage, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Suggs is still recovering from a left knee trochlea cartilage tear that ended his season in January, while Wagner is rehabbing a torn ACL in his left knee. Since they couldn’t participate in the scrimmage, Mosely decided to give them a different perspective. “It’s huge because it talks about communicating,” he said. “It keeps communication as the high priority. You’ve got to be able to communicate with your teammates the things that you see, what you want, the standard that we’ve set. I’ve said this before but it’s easy for coaches to say things, to put things on boards, to watch it on film … It becomes real when these guys can repeat it back to you and they can repeat the message of what they’re calling themselves to do.”
- Franz Wagner sat out the first preseason contest after an active summer at EuroBasket, but he’s hoping to get back on the court in at least one of the next three games, Beede adds. “Yeah, I definitely want to play, get out there with the guys and get a couple minutes,” Wagner said. “Not that much time before the first real game.”
- In a separate story, Beede examines the importance of this season for Anthony Black and Jett Howard, who will both become eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer.
KCP is really overrated if we are being honest. Anthony is a nothingburger of a player too. 4 FRP for Bane is wild enough though.
Four round picks look like a lot, but not really; you need to see the details of the deal, it is not four consecutive picks, as a matter of fact, it is every other year after the first year(2025). This year, Orlando had two picks, so basically, the pick that Orlando gave to Memphis was covered with the selection of Jase Richardson. If Orlando can make at least one eastern conference final in the next two years and be a relevant team in the league you will see that the FRP for Bane was a good trade for Orlando.
Rocco – the picks could never have been consecutive. Stepien rule applies to everyone, not just Orlando.
4 FRPs is a lot to give up by any metric. One injury marred season is enough to make this deal look like a major overpay, even if the Magic have a successful run with Paolo.
This trade is very similar to the Rudy Gobert trade, no doubt at all that so far Minnesota has been the winner over Utah.
If by very similar you mean two NBA teams exchanged player contracts and draft capital, then yes.
Please dive deeper into that analysis because I’m struggling to see the connection.
You keep those picks. Doesn’t mean you draft a Bane. You add him now at 26yrs old. He is a great fit here imo. He’s a big time 2way player. Always worth it to take a shot at chips. This team is young enough to contend for years. Makes the trade well worth it. Most of those picks are late picks. Not easy to find future starters after pick 20.
Definitely agree that adding Bane is a great move for Orlando. But 4 FRPs is a hefty price no matter how you slice it. It’s also a price that only becomes justified if Orlando has MAJOR success over the next half decade.
We are in the midst of a generational run by a guy in Denver who was a 2nd round pick. So yes, drafting an impact player becomes difficult the deeper you go in the draft but it’s far from impossible.
Magic are deep. Their young guys at end of bench can all play. Da Silva, Black, Richardson all solid guys. Magic are young and deep. They will contend for East this year. And for many yrs to come.
I would love for Knicks to find a way to land Isaac. He could help Towns on D. He’s a long 4.
The Magic play MMA style defense in the playoffs too. They’re going to be very difficult to beat.
Or we’ve called them in Orlando since they began the Orlando tragic.