The early returns for the Desmond Bane acquisition for the Orlando Magic were . . . not great.
Fans quickly fell in love with the idea of a high-volume shooter who would just put up a ton of threes and make them after years of struggling from beyond the arc. Bane was supposed to be a cure-all to those problems.
He struggled out of the gates though. The Magic struggled even to get him shots after he spent his career averaging 6.3 3-point attempts per game.
Everyone was trying to figure out what was happening and integrate this new toy into the mix. The Magic's championship potential rested on Bane elevating this team.
Acquiring Bane was not just about his shooting, though. The Magic knew that would come in time. They coveted a player like Bane for his playmaking and his ability to attack off the dribble.
Bane was not a simple catch-and-shoot shooter. He was a complete player who could boost every part of the team.
As Bane has struggled to find his shot to start the season, these other aspects of his game have helped him contribute and find his place. And now his shooting is starting to follow.
Bane is a complete picture
Desmond Bane's shooting was the biggest attraction in acquiring him and spending the immense capital to secure him. But the Magic also valued him because he was such a good playmaker and creator.
Orlando knew it needed better shooting but the team also needed another creator after watching Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner slam their heads against a wall. They needed someone else who was a threat off the dribble.
Bane has provided a lot of that despite his early-season shooting struggles. He has provided the benefit as teams lunge at the threat of his 3-point shooting.
Bane is averaging 16.8 points per game and 4.5 assists per game on 42.9 percent shooting and 32.9 percent shooting from three. It is not quite the impact the Magic hoped for from him.
His shooting struggles, as well as his struggles to get attempts -- 4.9 attempts per game, which is behind Tristan da Silva and Jalen Suggs -- have been well noted.
But Bane has not let that slow him down. He is averaging 10.6 drives per game and shooting 50.0 percent on those drives. He is averaging 6.2 points and 0.9 assists per game off drives, according to Second Spectrum.
Those numbers are down from his numbers last year, but they are a clear added dynamic for the team. But in his last six games, Bane is averaging 12.0 drives per game and 6.8 points per game on drives.
As Bane has gotten more comfortable, he has found a way to do more when the team swings the ball his way. And, especially since Paolo Banchero's injury, have another aggressive attacker has helped the Magic hold the ship steady without their star player.
Bane said he anticipated there would be a bit of an adjustment period coming to his new team. That adjustment period has finally started to take root.
Shooting comes around
Everything for Desmond Bane revolves around his shooting. And he has not delivered on the whole in that area.
His 32.9-percent 3-point shooting would be the first time he shot worse than 38 percent in his career if it continues. His 4.9 attempts per game would be the lowest since his rookie year. There is clearly some time to rebuild and grow with such a long season ahead.
But Bane has hit a turning point.
Since taking only one 3-point attempt in the Nov. 9 loss to the Boston Celtics, Bane has shot 14 for 38 from three (36.8 percent). That is 6.3 3-point attempts per game.
He has shot better than 40 percent in three of those six games and hit three or more threes in three of them. He hit multiple threes in all but one game -- and that one was the game-winner against the Portland Trail Blazers.
That seemed like a turning point for him.
Bane is shooting 45.0 percent on 3.3 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game in those six games, according to data from Second Spectrum. That is more in line with what the Magic hoped for.
And that is opening everything else up for him.
The right target
The Orlando Magic and Desmond Bane always had faith that the shooting would come around. And it is starting to build as the Magic have found their groove in the last 11 games.
Bane is starting to perk up and get closer to his averages offensively. He has found his groove. And certainly putting the ball in his hands more with the injury to Paolo Banchero has helped Desmond Bane find his groove.
He is simply a more dynamic player.
The players the Magic have given away have struggled in their new homes.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is shooting only 25.9 percent from deep for 7.3 points per game with the Memphis Grizzlies.
He was never much of a passer. When the Magic could not unlock his catch-and-shoot, he had little to offer outside of his perimeter defense.
Cole Anthony has continued an up-and-down career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He is averaging only 8.5 points per game but shooting only 30.8 percent from three. He has 5.3 assists per game this season.
Orlando certainly has come out ahead in the trade.
But it is not just what he does on the court that has mattered early in the season. Coach Jamahl Mosley has credited Desmond Bane's leadership throughout the entire season. He has credited Bane with bringing the team together and keeping them together through some of these early-season struggles.
That was something Ohm Youngmusik of ESPN wrote in his profile of the Magic's early-season breakthrough. Bane was one of the leading figures pushing the team to expect more of themselves this season and staying focused and on task.
It helped the Magic survive the tumultuous start to the season.
But all the other things outside of his shooting are exactly why the Magic chased Bane. He has found a good groove. And now the shooting has come around.
And when Bane is on, the Magic become a very difficult team to contain.