The Memphis Grizzlies may have fleeced the Orlando Magic in the first blockbuster trade of the summer.
On Sunday, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania tweeted the Magic dealt four unprotected first-round picks, a 2029 first-round pick swap and guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony for Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane.
Per Charania, Magic president Jeff Weltman has indicated the franchise is taking “an aggressive, win-now approach this offseason” to maximize its championship window. Orlando has a talented core that features forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and guard Jalen Suggs.
However, trading multiple first-round picks for Bane doesn’t seem like the best way to go about it.
The guard, who turns 27 on June 25, is solid but isn’t the caliber of player who instantly turns a team into a championship contender. In five seasons with the Grizzlies, he never made an All-Star Game.
He is a premier three-point shooter. The 2020 first-round pick has made 812-of-1,979 three-point attempts (41 percent) in his career. Orlando could use better three-point shooting after it finished last in the league in three-pointers made per game (11.2) and three-point percentage (31.8 percent) during the regular season.
Still, the Magic could’ve improved their three-point shooting in the draft. In Tankathon’s latest mock draft, the Grizzlies use the Magic’s pick to select Colorado State Rams guard Nique Clifford. In 36 games during the 2024-25 season, he shot 37.7 percent from three-point land.
More importantly, did the Magic need to make this move? This past season, Orlando went 41-41 in the regular season, but Banchero missed 34 games because of a right oblique tear, and Wagner missed 22 games with the same injury. When they were in the lineup for Orlando’s final 16 regular-season games, the Magic shot an above-average 36.7 percent from three-point range, via Josh Cohen of the team’s website.
It’s fair to wonder if the Magic should’ve kept the picks and waited until this upcoming season’s trade deadline to make a move. Instead, they’re banking on Bane being the missing piece, and it’s unclear whether he is.
