What acquiring Desmond Bane from Grizzlies in huge trade means for Magic

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel on Jun 15, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman made his first move Sunday looking through Orlando’s “win-now” lens that he described the organization entering after a second straight first-round playoff exit.

The Magic will acquire guard-forward Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guard Cole Anthony, guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and multiple future first-round draft picks, a league source told the Orlando Sentinel.

The draft picks conveyed to Memphis include, according to the league source: The No. 16 pick in the upcoming 2025 draft, a first-round pick in 2026 (which includes swap rights from either Phoenix or Washington), a first-round pick in 2028, the swap rights to a first-round draft pick in 2029 (top-two protected) and a first-round draft pick in 2030.

By landing Bane, the Magic add a sharpshooter who addresses one of Orlando’s biggest needs on the court. A 6-5 shooting guard, Bane shot 39.2% on 6.1 attempts from 3-point range per game last season for Memphis. He averaged 19.2 points with 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists during 32 minutes in 69 games last season.

A high-volume shooter from beyond the arc, Bane has averaged 6.3 long-range attempts on 41% shooting throughout his five-year career. Last year, Orlando shot a league-low 31.8% from 3.

Bane is viewed by those around the league as a high IQ player with great character and a wide-ranging skill set. A tough defender who is expected to fit into Orlando’s defensive DNA, Bane averaged at least one steal in four of his five years in Memphis.

And Orlando didn’t have to give up its core players in Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, or its young players such as Anthony Black (a 2023 lottery pick) and Tristan da Silva (2024 first-round pick).

The Magic also still own the No. 25 pick in the June 25 draft. That pick was acquired from Denver in a trade made by Weltman over four years ago.

Orlando has until June 29 to make decisions about its team options for Moe Wagner, Cory Joseph, Caleb Houstan and Gary Harris. If the options are declined, those players would become unrestricted free agents who could return on new deals or sign elsewhere.

By sending out Caldwell-Pope, the Magic move on from their largest free-agent signing a year ago. The two-time champion signed with Orlando thinking he’d help the club make a jump similar to when he won league titles with the Nuggets (2023) and Lakers (2020).

Ultimately though, Caldwell-Pope wasn’t the proper fit, and this trade confirms it. Last season ended a five-year run of him shooting at least 38% from 3-point range as he shot 34.2% from 3, the third-worst mark in his 12-year career.

He was also expensive, entering the second year of his three-year $66 million contract in 2025-26.

By moving on from Anthony, the Magic lose one of their longest tenured players on the current squad who offered a boost off the bench and a laugh in the locker room.

A 2020 first-round pick, Anthony became Orlando’s backup point guard as his career progressed. Although he had his moments, this past season didn’t come easy for him. He averaged 9.4 points, 3 rebounds and 2.9 assists, all figures that represented career worsts as he played the fewest minutes (18.4) during the first year of his three-year extension he signed with the Magic in October 2023.

Sending out two players for one, the trade leaves Orlando with an open roster spot for a standard contract. It also has two remaining two-way spots open, with only Ethan Thompson on a two-way deal.

As for Bane, who will turn 27 on June 25, his future in Orlando starts now.

He signed a five-year, $207 million max rookie contract extension in summer 2023 and has four years remaining on his deal, which is key for the Magic.

Weltman had expressed in the past he wasn’t willing to part with a young player or draft capital just for a one-year fix. Bane offers what Orlando needs and is under contract for the foreseeable future.

Although the Magic paid a steep price in future picks, it’s why they amassed picks over the years to make deals similar to Sunday’s. And there’s context that comes with the picks: If Orlando is where it aims to be in the future, it’s unlikely the future picks will be high in value.

Of course, that’s part of the gamble that comes with such a move.

But bottom line, Weltman said the Magic would search for “proven shot-making, proven offensive (player),” and that’s what they get in Bane.

Last season, he scored in double figures 62 times, 20-plus points 36 times, 30-plus points six times and 40-plus once, including a season-high 44 on March 17 at Sacramento.

With more work to be done, expect Weltman to continue to move in his typically stealth style.