The Orlando Magic are serious in building a competitive group around Paolo Banchero . On Sunday, the Magic traded away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies. In exchange, the Magic acquired shooting guard Desmond Bane, ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed.

Bane is a proven shooting guard in the league, shooting over 40% from three-point range. Last season, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The 26-year-old player shot 48.4% from the field and 39.2% from deep. During his tenure with the Grizzlies, he developed into one of the organization’s top players.

He averaged over 20 points for two consecutive seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons). Over the five years that he’s been in Memphis, he averaged 17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Bane will enter the second year of his five-year, $197.2 million contract. If the Magic commits, he’ll be playing for the franchise until the 2028-29 NBA season.

Following the trade, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman released a statement welcoming Bane to the organization.

“We are very thrilled to welcome Desmond (Bane) to the Orlando Magic family,” said Weltman . “Over his five years in the NBA, Desmond has distinguished himself as one of the elite guards in our league, and we look forward to his shooting, IQ and wide-ranging skill set in helping our team take a step forward. Desmond’s character is held in high regard across the league and we believe he will fit seamlessly with our existing players both on and off the court.”

The addition of Bane addresses one of the Orlando Magic’s concerns from the 2024-25 season: 3-point shooting. He is one of three players who have over 800 shots from deep since 2020. Orlando finished last in the NBA in shots from downtown, shooting a lowly 31.8% from long range.

An NBA insider believes the Orlando Magic gave up too much for Bane

Acquiring a player like Bane is an upgrade for the Orlando Magic. However, giving up two players and a plethora of future assets seems like too much for some. NBA insider Marc Stein addressed the roster move on the latest edition of “The Stein Line,” where he talked about how the Magic gave up too much.

“The trade is bound to be painted in many corners as an overpay no matter what justification is ultimately offered by the Magic, but the offloading of Caldwell-Pope’s contract was certainly a factor. The Magic signed Caldwell-Pope to a three-year, $66 million deal last summer. Not only did he struggle; Orlando had to shed some significant salary in this move to be able to add another $40 million-a-year player in Bane,” Stein wrote .

“The Magic, so long seen as an ultra-conservative team, just went the other direction in a very dramatic way. Especially when you consider that Banchero is the only player in that foursome to have reached All-Star status.”

The Magic want to contend, and they believe acquiring a better outside shooter would give them the push they need.

Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda . He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns , a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.