Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane the ‘perfect match’ for the franchise

ORLANDO – The way Paolo Banchero sees it, the stunning Desmond Bane addition was the needed piece to vault the Orlando Magic into a position to compete for something the franchise has never won:

An NBA championship.

“We could be extremely good,” Banchero told Andscape after practice on Oct. 2. “We could be the best team in the East. And health is important. But just being and going into my fourth year, being three years in and being in the playoffs the last two, I feel like I know what it’s going to take and how you build up and what your team needs to be able to do in order to be successful. And I think we’re going to be able to do those things this year. …

“[NBA Finals] that’s the goal. You know, that’s the mission.”

The Magic re-signed Banchero, a 2023 NBA All-Star forward, to a five-year, $287 million supermax contract extension on July 7. That move locked him and star teammate Franz Wagner into long-term contracts with the franchise.

Orlando drafted former Michigan State guard Jase Richardson with the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and sources say he looks like a potential draft steal.

The Magic also signed guard Tyus Jones as a free agent to a one-year, $7 million deal this offseason. Orlando also hopes to have injury-plagued starting guard Jalen Suggs back from knee injury at the start of the season, sources said.

With all that in mind, what pushed the Magic into the conversation as an Eastern Conference power is the stunning acquisition of Bane on June 15 from the Memphis Grizzlies for guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, guard Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap. That was widely viewed as the Magic’s needed move to become a contender in the East.

Last season, the Magic ranked last in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (31.8%) and last in catch-and-shoot 3s. Bane, who is 6-foot-5, averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 69 games with Memphis last season. He is one of three NBA players with 800 made 3-pointers and 40% 3-point shooting since entering the league in 2020.

“It’s a great fit for who we are as a team,” Banchero said about Bane. “He adds what we’re missing, and he also adds to what we already have. It’s like the perfect match. We don’t have anybody who can make shots like him, who can kind of leverage the way he is able to make shots, then make plays for others and get downhill and create.

“He’s a Swiss Army knife just as a player, as a guard. He is stronger than 99 percent of the guards in the league with how he’s built. He’s going to fit into what we do.”

The Magic were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs two years in a row without Bane. So, does Bane agree with Banchero’s assessment that the Magic could challenge for an NBA title with him?

“The sky’s the limit,” Bane said. “We throw that around all the time this time of year. Everybody thinks they’re going to be good. The work has to be put in. We’ve got a long way to go. A lot of growth. We’re all going to have to put our hard hats on every single night and we’ll see where this journey takes us.”

Bane, whose five NBA seasons have all been in Memphis, had a feeling he could be traded in the offseason. Bane said Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman told Grizzlies players in season-ending meetings that change could be on the horizon. The Grizzlies also needed to clear salary-cap space to complete a renegotiation and extension of forward Jaren Jackson Jr.’s contract this offseason to keep him from becoming a free agent in 2026.

Bane said he asked his representation to speak to Kleiman during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July to get more clarity. But weeks before NBA Summer League arrived, Bane received a suspicious text from Kleiman on Father’s Day while vacationing with his family in Destin, Florida. Kleiman texted “Happy Father’s Day” and asked Bane if he could talk immediately.

After Bane said yes, Kleiman surprisingly FaceTimed him to tell him he was traded to the Magic.

“My GM texted me like, ‘You got a second?’ And I was like, something is about to happen,” Bane said. “And then I got a FaceTime call from him and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, something’s definitely come up.’ But no bad blood at all. It’s a business. And I’m fortunate to be in a good situation. …

“At the end of the season, [Kleiman] told everybody there was a chance that the roster might look a little different. But you’d never expect it to be yourself. You know what I mean? It is what it is.”

Bane’s time in Memphis included playoff appearances in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but no true challenges for a West title. There were injuries to key players like Jackson, Bane, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke. Morant’s two off-court suspensions in recent years also cost him 33 games. Bane acknowledged he will wonder what could have been in Memphis.

“I feel like we never really got a chance to see what it would be like for a full season with our core and everybody healthy,” Bane said. “But you can only wait so long. In this business, you only got so many years to make something happen.”

Like Banchero, Orlando head coach Jamahl Mosley was ecstatic to add a veteran shooter and leader in Bane. Mosley’s excitement was evident on Magic social media when he was shown on video giving Bane “the dap heard around the world” handshake when the latter visited the practice facility for the first time. Mosley’s main message to Bane during a meeting in the head coach’s office was: “Be yourself.”

“Every person that’s ever has talked about him from when we signed him said he was of high character, family man, leader, tough,” Mosley said. “All those things — all the intangibles — he provides. And he talked about the character of who he is. He’s all those things. And he’s proven it.

“The conversation was again, ‘Be yourself.’ And then obviously, on the floor, space the floor, knock shots down, be a quick decision maker, defend at a high clip because we guard at a high level here.”

At only 27, Bane is the oldest player on the Magic’s roster.. Orlando has the fifth-youngest team in the NBA at 24.4 years of age entering the 2025-26 season, according to Reddit.

Bane has played in 313 regular-season games and 27 postseason contests. He said he hasn’t been shy about showing leadership since arriving to off-season workouts with the Magic in Las Vegas. Banchero said that he has appreciated Bane already having one-on-one conversations with him on how to improve the team.

“I’m still young in this league, still fighting for my own stripes,” Bane said. “But, man, it’s a young team, and they’re looking for a voice, looking for somebody to lead and push them. And I have a lot of those qualities, so I definitely feel respect there for sure. …

“I’m probably [using my voice] a little too much early on. I had to back off a little bit. But, yeah, I’m very comfortable. I’m gonna be myself everywhere I go. And nothing is different here.”

Said Banchero about Bane: “He’s not some old guy. He’s still pretty young, but he’s experienced a lot in the league and he’s had playoff runs and been on great teams. So, he has a lot of experience and he’s been a great player his whole career.

“You need somebody like that who can speak up, hold others accountable, hold myself accountable. And just somebody that you could depend on to show up every night and be a dog, be a competitor. That is what wins championships is having guys like that on your team.”

Bane also has used some veteran savviness to win over his teammates quickly by bearing gifts at the start of training camp. From Banchero to Wagner, to the guy just trying to make the Magic’s roster, Bane gifted each player an exclusive backpack at the start of training camp.

“I had to make sure everybody had a little book bag to carry around,” Bane said. “I’ve been working with Prime Society for the last two years. A travel bag company. Good quality stuff. Good leather. So, I made sure everybody had one. They liked it. It had the pinstripes on the inside, got their name embroidered on it. So, they were appreciative for sure.

“Me and my agent, we were talking about it in the summer. We wanted to do some welcome-to-the-group type of thing to get acclimated.”

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