The Orlando Magic made the first big trade of the offseason, sending Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four unprotected first-round picks to Memphis for Demond Bane.
Fans of the Detroit Pistons reacted immediately on social media, bemoaning the price tag for a guy like Bane (a non All-Stsar) when many of them have set their sights even higher for Detroit this offseason with guys like Devin Booker, Jaren Jackson Jr., Kevin Durant and even Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The cost needs to be addressed, as fans are acting as if this is another Mikal Bridges trade, which was not the case.
Part of the payoff Memphis got came from taking on the rest of KCP’s contract, one the Magic were desperate to shed after he was terrible this season. Cole Anthony is a bench player, and all of those picks will likely fall outside of the lottery, so I’d argue that’s a pretty good price for Bane while also dumping an unwanted salary.
Context matters, so just because Bane was able to net four picks doesn’t mean the next guy traded will.
But it should give fans who want a win-now move some pause.
Detroit Pistons rumors: Patience is still going to be key
The Orlando Magic had one of the best defenses in the league last year and one of the worst offenses, so it makes sense that they would go all in for Bane, especially since they had extra draft capital to part with.
After finishing 7th, even with all of their bad injury luck, the Magic may be able to win the Eastern Conference next season, as it is as wide open as it could be.
Teams have to be watching the Indiana Pacers, who were hardly considered a super team coming into the season, competing with the 68-win Thunder in the Finals and wondering “why not us?”
We could see more teams push in their chips, especially in the East, where the right move could propel any of the top 7-8 teams into contention.
This trade also shows the cost of making a win-now move, which is going to be relatively steep depending on the player. Again, context matters, but if Bane can get that kind of return, you have to wonder what the Bucks will hold out for if they trade Giannis.
The Pistons only recently regained control of all of their future draft picks, and even though they already have plenty of young talent, they can’t just give them away unless it is the right move, especially when they don’t yet know what some of their young guys can be.
Detroit isn’t one player away from being a title team and is more likely to nibble around the fringes rather than go all in, but you do have to wonder what is happening in Memphis.
Who is next from the Memphis Grizzlies?
The question is now is obviously where the Grizzlies go from here. Are they going into full-blown rebuild mode? If so, trading JJJ and Ja Morant now does make some sense, as they could reap enough along with the Bane trade to give the Grizzlies a nice starting point for a rebuild.
Will that put JJJ on the market? If so, would the Pistons be willing to mortgage all of their future draft capital and at least one or two of their young players to get him?
After seeing the Bane trade, the Pistons may be content to look for guys in the next tier of talent, hold onto their assets and wait until they are closer to title contention to make the big move.