The Magic Insider

Orlando Magic's Desmond Bane To Handle Key Role Outside Of Scoring

Shandel Richardson|
Apr 24, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) handles the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) defends during the third 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) handles the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) defends during the third 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 Orlando Magic signed Desmond Bane to provide outside shooting and defense. That is the main reason they traded for him from the Memphis Grizzlies: to add offense alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. But there is another reason he is expected to fill another role this season.

Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem pointed it out while speaking with Magic coach Jamahl Mosley on ESPN during the NBA Summer League. The Magic plan to use Bane as a facilitator as well because of how he played last year when Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was out of the lineup.

"Desmond had a lot of experience handling the ball with Ja out," Haslem said. "He got better at it. I saw it. They were able to win a couple games. He got comfortable doing it."

Mosley confirmed this. He even had conversations with Jamie Dixon, who was Bane's coach at TCU.

"I talked to Des' college coach," Mosley said. "He played point some in college so when he got the ball in his hands in Memphis when Ja was out, he was able to control that offense and understand what he needed to do. The biggest part for our guys is you want decision-makers. You want guys who can make the right play at the right time for their teams. When you have that point guard mentality, you're able to get others involved in the right way."

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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