The Memphis Grizzlies have pulled off the first big trade of this NBA offseason. Shams Charania of ESPN reported Sunday that the Orlando Magic have traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks, and one first-round pick swap for Memphis’ Desmond Bane. This Desmond Bane trade has many around the league shocked, as nobody was expecting the Grizzlies to part with their homegrown star in the making. That being said, the return may be worth it. Continue for our Grizzlies trade grade for this massive deal.
Losing Bane is going to hurt the Grizzlies. There is no doubt about that. You could easily make the argument that over the last few seasons, he has been their best and most consistent player. While Ja Morant has missed significant chunks of the last few seasons, Bane has been the guy keeping the offense afloat.
Nevertheless, it is probably safe to say that the combination of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. wasn’t going to lead the team to an NBA championship. That’s why when this Magic trade offer came in, the Grizzlies had to say yes. Over his last three seasons, Bane has averaged under 57 games played per year, which also makes trading him hurt much less.
Ignore that the Grizzlies are getting a solid young player in Cole Anthony and a championship veteran in KCP. Those two guys can help them stay competitive despite losing one of their top players. However, this Desmond Bane trade haul is all about the picks.
One of those picks is the Magic’s 16th pick this year, one is Phoenix’s first in 2026 (which could end up being quite valuable), and the other two are fully unprotected picks in 2028 and 2030. The Magic also threw in a lightly protected pick swap in 2029.
This haul of Magic draft picks makes losing Bane totally worth it. The Grizzlies weren’t making deep playoff runs with this core anyway, and they needed to switch things up. What better way than with a load of unprotected picks?
These picks give the Grizzlies multiple options moving forward. First, they can use these picks to continue to develop their already young team and build towards the future while remaining competitive. They can pivot into a full rebuild by trading Morant and even JJJ, grabbing even more assets. Or they can even trade these picks for more starter-level players (or even a star) to help build around Morant and JJJ right now. The point is, with these picks, they have options.
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That’s why our Grizzlies trade grade is A-. It always hurts to lose arguably one of your best players. But when that player isn’t a franchise-building block-level player, and you get the return that the Magic offered up, it’s a huge win. The Grizzlies lost some production for a ton of future flexibility and high-upside draft capital.
More NBA: Magic trade grade: Instant reaction to Orlando’s huge, risky Desmond Bane trade
