For 24 hours, the Orlando Magic were at the forefront of the basketball world.
In a trade that has mostly been viewed as a win-win deal for both the Orlando Magic and the Memphis Grizzlies, it was clear that the buying team in the Magic would come under the most scrutiny.
Orlando, in sending out Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four first-round picks and a first-round pick swap for Desmond Bane, made a clear statement of intent. The addition of another $30-million-salary player locked the Magic into the first apron, and potentially deep into the second apron, raised a lot of questions.
The one question was bubbling underneath the surface then: Does this move vault the Magic into the contender class? Is this enough to make the Magic championship contenders?
Ultimately, how anyone answers that question will come down to whether they believe Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are the kind of star players to lead a team to a championship. The jury is still out on that. It might be fair criticism to say the Magic pushed their chips in too early -- although financially, this was the only opportunity for them to do so.
How anyone answers that question it does not change the basic statement: The Magic are ready to win. This was a win-now move.
And everyone feels it. Bane especially as he was introduced to the local media Tuesday.
"It's time to win," Bane said Tuesday. "It's pretty much as simple as that. . . . I think it was the perfect time for the organization to do what they did. I talked to my agent prior to everything going down at the end of the season, if there was ever any chance I get traded where are some of the spots you want to go? I promise you, Orlando was right at the top of the list. It's a perfect fit."
Bane said hearing that the Grizzlies had traded him to Orlando changed his mood from dour about leaving a team he has been a part of his entire career and helped build to joy with a situation like the Magic's. He said he was smiling through the phone as he began processing the move ahead of him.
A perfect fit on the court
The Orlando Magic seems pretty happy, too. Desmond Bane checked a lot of boxes for the Magic. And both have huge ambitions for the upcoming season.
It is clear Bane will add a lot to the Magic on the court.
His 3-point shooting was a critical need as a career 41.0-percent shooter (he clocked in at 39.2 percent last year. But so was his ball-handling and ability to create in the pick and roll.
The Magic needed shooting and another player who could create his own shot while still competing on defense. Bane was that player. In many ways, he was the missing piece at a scale few thought the Magic would be willing to pursue.
Orlando added the perfect fit to their team, addressing several needs at once.
The Magic finished last season at 41-41 and seventh in the Eastern Conference. That was well short of the team's goal of playing for homecourt advantage and a five-game playoff exit to the Boston Celtics compared to the seven-game battle they had in 2024 to the Cleveland Cavaliers made it seem like a major step back.
But injuries were a huge part of that story too. Orlando certainly feels like injuries prevented the team from reaching its full potential.
Pressure is a privilege
Orlando was eager to jump on the chance to improve and make good on this prime period for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
This trade only ramps up that pressure.
"I think it's a great thing for this group to understand how we need to grow, how we have to develop, how we have to keep challenging each other to get better on and off the court," coach Jamahl Mosley said Tuesday. "It's going to come as a process of what we're trying to accomplish. Wins and losses, we'll talk about that as next year comes. But more importantly, we're sticking with a process to make us one of the best teams we can be."
Pressure is indeed a privilege, something Mosley said his kids reminded him as they excitedly discussed the deal and the opportunity ahead for the Magic.
There is no denying that the financial investment the Magic have made has amped up the stakes for this team. For this gambit to work, the Magic are going to have to win. They are suddenly going to have to compete for a championship.
There is certainly excitement in the air. Bane said expectations are healthy. And this team has the talent to do something special.
But now that the Magic have set their course, the work beings. Work that a player like Bane absolutely embraces.
"It's extremely hard to win in this league, especially at a high level," Bane said Tuesday. "It starts with your process. Your day-to-day process. The way you approach your workouts, the way you approach what you're eating, how you are sleeping. All those things are extremely important on the path to success. I am sure they already have a lot of that. I'm going to come in here and stick to my roots and hopefully lead by example."
For a team that is still young, the 26-year-old (27 on June 25) carries a lot of playoff experience, having won a playoff series in 2022 and been part of a team that earned homecourt advantage in the first round.
If there is concern about this deal and its success, it is where you believe the Magic are ready to perform the details necessary to win at this level. There is no proof they can do it because they have not done it before.
Still, the talent the Magic have is undeniable. The opportunity they have in front of them is too. Their top-end talent will dictate how far this team goes. But the franchise is fully invested in them.
It is clear what the Magic believe they can accomplish. They are indeed ready to win and everyone can feel it.