Magic Facing Backlash for Blockbuster Desmond Bane Trade originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Orlando Magic are one of the young teams in the league, and they’ve been able to see improvements in the past two seasons. They’ve made the postseason both years, but have also been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Coming into the offseason, Magic president Jeff Weltman let it know that he was ready for the team to take the next step, and if that meant shaking things up on the roster, that’s what he would do.
So far, Weltman has kept his word, and on Sunday morning, the Magic acquired Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four first-round picks and a pick swap.
Though it seemed like a good trade for the Magic, some people can’t believe that they gave up that much to acquire Bane.
“Luka only got one first-round pick,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Why would they trade that for bane,” another user wrote.
“Giannis literally is not tradable if thats what Bane costs,” a third user wrote.
On the other hand, there were some people that understood why the Magic made the trade.
“Most ‘first-round picks’ aren’t all that valuable. Outside the top 10, you’re drafting role players for the most part. Want to win now? Trade those picks to teams who over value non-lottery firsts to get real talent. You can always backfill those spots with win-now guys,” a user wrote.
If Bane ends up being a great fit for the Magic and they make a deep playoff run, the trade will be justified. If the Magic fail to exceed expectations, a lot of people will look at the trade as an overpay.
Related: Magic Trade for $197 Million Star, Swap Underperforming $66 Million Vet Plus Haul
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
