The Magic Insider

ESPN Insider Strongly Defends Orlando Magic Trade Package For Desmond Bane

Shandel Richardson|
Apr 24, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) dribbles as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) defends during the second quarter during game three for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Apr 24, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) dribbles as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) defends during the second quarter during game three for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Orlando Magic

The Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks are the favorites in the Eastern Conference next season. Right behind them are the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks. They are among the two teams that have made the biggest strides during the early portion of free agency.

"I think the teams that have made the biggest leaps over these last couple of weeks have been the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks," ESPN's Insider Tim MacMahon said Wednesday on Get Up.

Some are predicting the Magic as a contender in the East, especially with the Indiana Pacers (Tyrese Haliburton) and Boston Celtics (Jayson Tatum) without their best players for most of the next season. The Magic beefed up an already strong roster with a trade for Desmond Bane and signing Tyus Jones.

MacMahon has no problem with the Magic giving up four first-round picks for Bane, who joins Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

"The Magic a couple weeks ago, their trade for Desmond Bane, you could look at the picks package and accuse them of overpaying but this is a guy that's going to be a great fit for a team that had a glaring need for some offensive punch, for some juice in that starting lineup, as a guy who can creat," McMahon said. "This is a team that's pouncing on the opportunity. They haven't won a playoff series since Dwight Howard was in Orlando."

ESPN's Bobby Marks is also excited about the Magic's offseason moves.

"I think you can't overlook certainly Orlando and Atlanta, two teams that have a lot of progress in the offseason," Marks said.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here