Desmond Bane will be worth the price Magic paid for him

The first big move of the NBA offseason - well, near-offseason - didn't feature Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant, but rather Desmond Bane, with the Orlando Magic taking a big swing to vault themselves up the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

Here's how the trade breaks down for both sides.

Magic receive: Desmond Bane

Grizzlies receive: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, 2025 No. 16 pick, 2026 1st-round swap, 2028 1st-round pick, 2029 1st-round swap, 2030 1st-round pick

A risk worth taking for Orlando

At first glance, this is an incredibly steep price to pay for a zero-time All-Star. But that undersells the caliber of player Bane has become, how well he fits the Magic, and where Orlando finds itself in the competitive cycle, which is suddenly the fringes of contention. (In addition, one of the first-rounders was likely the cost of dumping Caldwell-Pope's contract).

Bane isn't a top-tier creator, but he's underrated in that regard and far more than just a play-finisher or catch-and-shoot specialist. The 26-year-old is a legitimate three-level scorer who brings the shooting, spacing, and movement desperately needed to unlock a Magic offense that hasn't finished higher than 22nd in efficiency since 2012.

A career 41% 3-point shooter on more than six attempts per game, Bane can punish teams on or off the ball. He's averaged 20 points per game over the last four years while flirting with 50-40-90 shooting splits, and he's grown considerably as a playmaker.

One of the most impressive aspects of Bane's offense has been his ability to maintain efficiency while creating more of his own looks. As a rookie during the 2020-21 season, only 29.1% of Bane's 2-pointers were unassisted and just 6.8% of his 3-pointers were self-created. In 2024-25, Bane created 57.4% of his 2-pointers and 36.6% of his long-range buckets while posting the exact same 60% true shooting mark in Years 1 and 5 of his career.

Bane's negative wingspan has often been cited as a defensive concern, but he puts forth an honest effort on that end of the court, and he'll be well insulated as part of an elite - and sizable - defense in Orlando.

The Magic are a more complete team today, with an offense that should be much tougher to shut down. Bane's arrival will feel like manna from heaven for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, whose jobs are going to get a lot easier with the former Grizzly running routes around them. That's a scary thought for opponents considering what Banchero and Wagner have already been able to accomplish with so little spacing to work with.

Bane's contract will be a point of contention, with more than $163 million owed to him over the next four years. But the league's salary cap should grow by 10% year over year thanks to a massive influx of new media rights money. In that context, Bane's salaries will be worth 23.7%, 23.2%, 22.5%, and then 21.8% of the cap by season. That's fine for a player of his ilk.

Surrendering control of five first-round picks is stomach-turning, but the Magic projected to be a middling East team, at worst, before this deal was consummated. The chance any of those picks would've turned into a Bane-level player was slim. Could that draft capital have been stashed and eventually spent on a bigger star? Perhaps, but it's unlikely the Magic were going to win any of the upcoming superstar sweepstakes. In the meantime, they've added a borderline All-Star just entering his prime, who fills a team need and is under contract through 2029.

Bane himself is an attractive asset, just like Banchero, Wagner, and starting point guard Jalen Suggs. Orlando still has plenty of maneuverability if needed.

The Magic also have a dynamite two-way core - all 26 and younger - under long-term team control, which gives them a real chance in a wide-open conference. Not every team would've taken this shot, but kudos to Orlando for doing so.

What's next for Grizzlies?

Bane's departure marks the end of the road for a star trio that was supposed to be the Western Conference's next big thing. That core - which also featured Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. - peaked too soon and fell well short of early expectations. That's no fault of Bane's, who quietly added to his game while taking on more offensive responsibility for a banged-up squad that too often went to battle without Morant.

Still, as much as this trade was a bet worth making for Orlando, who landed the deal's best player by a country mile, it's also tremendous value for Memphis, no matter which direction the Grizzlies are headed.

If a rebuild is on the horizon, there are certainly worse ways to launch one than with control of an extra five first-rounders. And if the Grizzlies still plan on competing with Morant and Jackson leading the charge, they've created some longer-term cap flexibility, which could come in handy given Jackson is extension-eligible this summer. They also added a 3-and-D veteran in Caldwell-Pope, who should be due for a bounce back of some sort after a down year in Orlando, and a young combo guard in Anthony.

The extra draft capital and sheer volume of assets could help Memphis land an impact player one day to pair with Morant and Jackson.

If the Grizzlies are lucky, that player might even be as good as Desmond Bane.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead Raptors and NBA reporter.