When last season ended, Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said his team would be looking for win-now moves. In the wake of trading for Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies, Weltman said they found a player who fills their greatest needs.
“The guy is almost the player you would design if you could start from scratch,” Weltman said. “Because obviously we’ve spoken a lot about our need for shooting, but we’ve also talked about play-making and adding skill. Desmond is such a unique player because he’s one of the best shooters in the NBA, but he’s also a gifted play-maker and he generates shot-creation for himself and others. He creates advantages with and without the ball.”
Weltman believes that at age 27, Bane fits in well with the timeline of the Magic’s young core. The Orlando front office leader also said the veteran shooting guard was someone the team had eyed for a while.
“We valued him very highly for a while,” Weltman said. “There are few guys in the league that if they become available, you’re going to be aggressive. When I stood here after the season, I honestly didn’t expect him to be available in these conversations. But when we learned about that as we did our laps around the league, we shifted gears and made it a priority for us.”
