After the Orlando Magic exited in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year, the team’s president of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman, said the Magic were going to adopt “a win-now philosophy” to address the team’s deficiencies on offense.
On Sunday morning, Weltman showed what he had in mind.
But did he pay too steep a price in terms of outgoing draft picks?
The Magic acquired hard-nosed, sharp-shooting wing Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies for wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, guard Cole Anthony, four first-round picks and one pick swap, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
Orlando paid a hefty price to acquire Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane 👀
(Picks via @JoshuaBRobbins) pic.twitter.com/UcuEFJiUln
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 15, 2025
Bane, who will turn 27 later this month, is a career 41.0 percent 3-point shooter and capable secondary playmaker who almost certainly will slot into Orlando’s starting lineup alongside Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.
Bane is under contract through the end of the 2028-29 season, and he’s expected to fit ably into coach Jamahl Mosley’s defensive system and improve Orlando’s floor spacing.
Caldwell-Pope, 32, did not provide the offensive punch during the 2024-25 regular season and 2025 postseason the Magic hoped for when they signed him to a three-year, $66 million contract last summer.
Anthony, 25, is a scorer who lost his place in Orlando’s regular playing rotation at times during the 2024-25 season.
The Magic are giving up the No. 16 pick in this year’s draft, their unprotected first-round pick in 2028 and their unprotected first-round pick in 2030, a league source said.
The Magic will also convey a 2026 first-round pick to the Grizzlies. But this part of the deal is extremely complicated. The Grizzlies will receive either the Magic’s pick that year or the less favorable of Phoenix’s pick or Washington’s pick. (That said, Washington’s pick is top-eight protected and appears highly unlikely to convey.)
The Grizzlies will also receive the swap rights to a first-round pick in 2029 that is top-two protected.
Essentially, in sending out all of this draft capital, Magic officials are making the calculated move that they will be a top contender in the Eastern Conference, which, in turn, would place their first-round picks late in the first round.
Memphis’ swift first-round exit to Oklahoma City, after firing longtime head coach Taylor Jenkins late in the season and stumbling into the playoffs, was the biggest sign that Memphis had hit a wall and change was a possibility. The Grizzlies will remain competitive as long as Ja Morant is spearheading the offense and Jaren Jackson Jr. anchors the defense, but this roster could use an overall software upgrade.
It’s still somewhat surprising that Bane is who Memphis chose to part ways with, given his importance as a floor spacer, secondary playmaker and solid point-of-attack defender — but four first-round picks with no protections is simply too good of an offer to pass up.
ESPN was the first outlet to report the broad terms of the trade.
(Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
