The Orlando Magic have pulled off the first big trade of this NBA offseason. Shams Charania of ESPN reported Sunday that the Magic have traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks, and one first-round pick swap for Desmond Bane. This massive Desmond Bane trade is a huge risk for the Magic. Let’s do an early Magic trade grade for this summer blockbuster.
The first part of this trade is just the players. Swapping Anthony and Caldwell-Pope for Bane is certainly a win. Bane’s stats last season were 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He also shot nearly 40% from three.
That being said, both Anthony and Caldwell-Pope played significant roles on the Magic last season, and losing them isn’t irrelevant.
What is the most relevant piece of this Magic-Desmond Bane trade is that the Magic had to get rid of FOUR first-round draft picks in order to make this deal happen. That is a lot of draft capital.
One of those picks is theirs this season, one is Phoenix’s 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 as a cherry on top.
What type of player does the Magic president, Jeff Weltman, think he just traded for? This type of draft pick equity resembles a trade return for Kevin Durant more than it does for Bane.
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On top of all that draft capital, while Bane is certainly a great NBA player, he doesn’t have the best injury history. This should be a huge red flag for the Magic, as their season last year was derailed by injuries. They need to ensure they pair Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner with reliable stars. Bane hasn’t proved yet that he is.
Bane has only played more than 70 games once in his career. Over his last three seasons, he has averaged under 57 games played per year. That type of track record just isn’t worth selling the farm for.
That’s why our Magic trade grade for this Desmond Bane trade is a D+. Bane just isn’t quite a star, and the Magic paid star-level prices to obtain him. His fit in Orlando could be great, but we have a feeling the Magic are going to regret emptying a lot of their asset chest to get him.
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