For the record, I never cared about the Magic giving up four first-round picks to acquire Desmond Bane. Trade those picks! Get good players! That's exactly what the Magic did with Bane, and after his stellar Magic debut, he's quickly on his way to quieting even the most skeptical fans about the price paid for his services.
Bane had 23 points (7-18 FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in his official Magic debut, a win over the Miami Heat. He was awesome, providing everything Magic fans envisioned him providing next to the team's other stars. Shooting, offensive creation, hustle — the playmaking is bound to show up soon, too.
I'm somewhat of a radical in my beliefs about pick trading. If you can get a star player, do that every time. Hell, they should have thrown in a fifth first-rounder just for fun (I kid, kind of). And when a player like Bane immediately makes a game-changing impact on his new team, I think the pro-trading picks standpoint is vindicated.
Maybe those picks do end up being super valuable. That's fine! The Magic have a super valuable player right now. Those picks were doing nothing for the current Orlando Magic, but adding Bane right now does everything for this team. They are contenders in the Eastern Conference because of the move. Isn't winning the whole point of this, anyway?
Desmond Bane makes everyone's life easier
After the game, Bane gave a great answer to Ryan Kaminski of onSI about running a pick-and-roll with Paolo Banchero, saying, “It’s honestly the first time I’ve ever been in a Pick-and-Roll situation with somebody that’s feared more than me, or equally as much as me.”
And that's a perfect example of the fun things the Magic can try with another ball-handler in the backcourt with Jalen Suggs. Bane opens up so many avenues for this offense that weren't available before.
Maybe 10 years down the line, Desmond Bane is retired and the Grizzlies have a star player on their roster thanks to the picks they acquired in this deal. At that point, we'll look back and ask ourselves what on earth the Magic were thinking when they made that trade. But don't fall into that trap — the Magic are way, way better now with Desmond Bane than they would be without him, and that's what Magic fans should be focusing on, not someone who is currently playing AAU Basketball.