Philly Front Office

On Sunday morning the Memphis Grizzlies traded Demond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Cole Anthony, KCP, the #16 pick in this draft, 2 unprotected future Magic picks, an Orlando/Phoenix pick in 2026, and a pick swap in 2029. This is the first domino to drop in what is setting up to be a crazy NBA offseason. Let’s take a look at how this affects the Sixers.

The Cost

People just see 4 first round picks and lose their minds. Realistically though, this wasn’t a league breaking haul, though I think both sides did well. Simply, there are no lottery tickets in here.

• Orlando’s 16th pick is not a premium asset. You could probably trade it for a solid role player alone, but no one who is moving the needle
• The 2026 Magic/Suns pick is kind of a mess to explain, but in the end, it is basically the most favorable pick between the two teams. Phoenix isn’t going to be good, but they aren’t going to be terrible either.
• The unprotected picks from the Magic in 2028 and 2030 are probably going to be similar to the 16th pick this year or lower (meaning 16+). Th Magic are young and have a solid core of talent that will keep them from bottoming out.
• Cole Anthony stinks
• KCP is an aging and overpaid role player who will be useful

Orlando Magic

Orlando just got better in a weak Eastern Conference. They were already a solid defensive team that improved that defense while also getting a top shooting guard. Bane can play and will get even more opportunity with the Magic now that he isn’t next to Ja Morant. This is going to be an annoying as hell team to go against now.

The Magic finished at .500 this season with a nearly flat point differential. They held teams to the lowest point total in the league while barely scoring themselves. Anything to improve that offense is a plus. Bane is a regular 20 ppg guy who shoots around 40% from 3 on high volume.

Bane is probably overpaid with 4 years and around $160m left on his contract but he is still a solid 3rd banana type. Would he be much more appropriately paid at $30m per season instead of $40m? Absolutely, but the Magic are in a decent place to absorb the contract since all of their recently extended young guys are on rookie level extensions instead of veteran max level deals. There are no $50m-$60m contracts here. Franz Wagner just signed for 5/$224 which comes to $38m this season while Jalen Suggs signed for 5/$150m. The Suggs contract even goes down year over year, topping out at $35m this season. Paolo Banchero is going to get maxed out this summer but has not signed yet. With some non guaranteed contracts that might get dropped or traded, there is still more than enough room for Banchero. Beyond them, they have a lot of rookie level deals and movable guys making $10m to $20m like Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter, and Mo Wagner. It is a young and solidly paid team with no one breaking the bank in a Paul Georgian way.

Sixers

It is not a legitimate exercise to predict the 2025-26 Sixers, there are too many variables. Most importantly, we have no idea how available Joel Embiid will be. Without him, obviously there would be no point to going after someone like Bane. With him though?

Bane is a great athlete in a 6’6″ 220 pound body with standard size arms and a thick sturdy frame. He’s fast, defends, and can shoot. In theory, you would love him next to Tyrese Maxey. He isn’t a point guard who would let Maxey run free, but he would be a much better running mate than Jared McCain or Quentin Grimes (obviously, but I just mean in terms of the traits fit). Could we have added him?

The salary would have been the tough part, not the assets. McCain would have been in the deal and Grimes would have needed a sign and trade (which creates some problems). Then we would probably need a future first and Oubre and Drummond as salary filler. Could we have done it for #3, Grimes, and salary filler? It would have depended on how much Memphis liked Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe, that’s how much better the #3 pick is than #16. It may not have been enough, but it would have been in the ballpark. It is only the kind of move the Sixers could try if they really believed Embiid was healthy because it would be a chips all in move. They would no longer have any roster flexibility, not unlike the current Phoenix Suns.

Instead, there is now another team firmly in the way in the East for which a supposedly contending Sixers must get by. Assuming Embiid does not play, they are very clearly better than us. Even if he is on the floor, they now stack up very favorably against use in that they have two VERY good back court on ball defenders in Suggs and Bane.

Tyrese Maxey

There is a minority of the fan base that wants to trade Tyrese Maxey. I both do not want to do that and do not think it’s crazy. If the team is dead, I can understand trading him at the peak of his value…next season. I am going to write a ton more on that tomorrow, but at the very least, you know that what the Magic gave up for Bane is the absolute floor for a Maxey trade.

The Magic didn’t give up any blue-chip assets in this deal, it was a quantity over quality exchange. That wouldn’t work for the Sixers in a Maxey deal. Maxey is an ascending star and could be seen as a #2 player while Bane is more of an incredible role player/#3. Maxey is a needle mover in terms of both skill and marketing. I don’t think you can say the same for Bane (though he fits great in Orlando).

So, what would it take to move Maxey? The Sixers would want a likely top-5ish pick in a current draft, 3 unprotected picks going forward (preferably from another team), and a former lottery pick with upside. In other words, If Maxey were on another team, it would take the Sixers #3, Jared McCain, the Clippers pick in 2028 if it could be traded, the 2029 pick swap with the Clippers, and the 2031 Sixers pick. That’s why people want to trade him. It is a lot better foundation to start on than the Process.

More on Maxey tomorrow.