Orlando Magic shook the player market when it traded with Desmond Bain. But Draymond Green points out that Bane wasn’t the first magical choice before the trade took place.
Due to his position as one of the league’s three-point shooters, Desmond Bain was a hot item. Orlando’s magic quickly slammed into a deal that included four first round picks and one first round pick swap.
It may sound outrageous at first, especially with a fiery response to trade. This excludes the Phoenix Suns’ first round pick for 2026. This could be important for the Sands’ struggle. But it’s worth it, as magic has a archer that needs it for a while.
Despite being a perfect fit alongside the magic, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green feels that Bane isn’t his first choice.
Based on Orlando’s issues in the 2024-25 season, they had two major issues. The first was boundary fire as the league’s worst shooting rate was 31.8%. Their second issue was reliable ball handling and playmaking from the lead guard.
For the most part, Franz Wagner and Jalen Saggs were responsible for being playmakers. Wagner and Suggs may have impressed the magical front office enough to find the shooter. Anthony Black would have played a role here, as he is an underrated player in Orlando.
They pulled the trigger for the deal, which felt like a lot of people were too many, but Bane thinks it wasn’t. However, Green felt that searching for a point guard was a priority for Orlando.
“I don’t know this is true. This is my guess. They were looking for point guards,” Green told the Draymond Green Show.
“My guess is, they somehow formed it in JA and Memphis… and curved the ball.
“What the move signales me for me is that they believe in those people. They want to try it with those people. They also believe that the league is wide open.”
“I don’t know if that’s a shot taken on the four first round picks. I respect those who are willing to go with that.”
Bane is a 41% 3-point shooter with 6.3 attempts per game for the Memphis Grizzlies. It proves he is elite. Especially since he can get out of dribbling as a spot-up shooter. The magic unleashed a new part of their attack with Bane as another scoring option.
Before the trade, there were rumours that Orlando had traded with Portland Trail Blazers Guard and Orlando native Anfernie Simons. He would have resolved the point guard and filmed the shooting issues that Green pointed out. But they went to Bane, so that didn’t happen.
Defensiveness is key in this deal as Bane is a much better defender than Simons. The Suggs would have had a heavy responsibility if they had to play a shooting guard alongside a mediocre defender.
With the starting lineup of Suggs, Bane, Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr., the magic is powerful. They should be ready to compete in the Upper Echelon of the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics are dealing with injuries, so magic would want to take advantage of the opportunity.