Desmond Bane speaks to media after trade to Orlando Magic
yeah yeah yeah i think that’s pretty good you can go yeah you’re good does take us through what the last 48 hours or so have been like since finding out you were going to be traded to Orlando yeah it’s been uh it’s been moving fast um I was on vacation in uh Dest Florida um so I was already in the state which uh made it a little easier to get here but uh it’s it’s been it’s been great man i mean obviously leaving everybody behind in Memphis will be tough um I made some really good relationships and friendships there that um won’t end there you know i mean we’ll we’ll continue to talk and um stay in touch but but I’m super excited to be here i mean all the the guys they’ve reached out and hit me up the front office um support staff everybody’s been real real supportive and um you can tell there’s an excitement in the air um as well as expectations you know and and expectations are healthy and um you know I feel like we have the roster to be able to do um some some really special things so so I’m excited and and looking forward to the to the new chapter what’s your impression of the talent that you’re joining you know the guys that are on the team super talented um you know it’s it’s different than Memphis but we were the young and upand cominging team um as well and it’s a it’s a great place to to be um you know obviously Paulo France Jaylen Wendell um Tristan Anthony Black you can keep going all the way down the list of of these guys and um you know I got got a chance to play against them not a ton coming from the Western Conference but it was always tough to put the ball in the basket against them i’ll tell you that they they guard and um you know I think I’ll I’ll fit right into to what they’re trying to do on that end and and hopefully help out a little bit um you know on the spacing front on on offense you mentioned in a in a tweet you know years ago that this facility is what Memphis needed but now that you’re here you see this facility how special is this whole entire setup you guys got here it’s it’s different bro the one in Memphis we ain’t have not one window you know so it’s it’s Yeah like we joked around and called it the dungeon um you know but but this is it’s a breath of fresh air i mean you literally you can step outside and get a breath of fresh air and eat on the patio i mean there’s indoor outdoor training facility um you know all the bells and whistles are are in here and it’s great but I feel like the people is really what’s going to make this place um special watching from afar what did you see about the Magic whether he was playing against him over the years that you really like uh I mean I think it’s the the physicality um don’t back down from anybody um they’re they’re extremely versatile i mean having two 610 guys that can put the ball on the floor um a guy like Jaylen Suggs who um tenacious you know on both ends of the floor high motor Wendell can stretch the floor and shoot um I mean it’s it’s just versatility everywhere um so I I think that’s that’s what you need you know you see the teams in the playoffs that are still competing they have guys on the floor that can do multiple things at a at a very high level and um play extremely hard and uh the Magic have both of those things we have both of those things how does how does that fit you as as as you begin to think about how you kind of fit into this group does this does that describe how does how much does that describe how I think that’s that’s that’s my DNA you know I think that I’m a a gritty guy um you know that’s that’s how I’ve made it um to this point i mean you you look up and down the roster and we all have similar makeups their their arms might be a little bit longer than mine but apart apart from that man we’re uh I think we’re we’re very aligned what are your impressions of coach Jamal Mosley cool cat like that’s that’s I think that’s the best way to put it like seems like it’s a he’s a he’s really a player’s coach um puts the guys first puts himself in our shoes um and gives us freedom um that’s that’s the the thing that every player wants is is freedom um he’s going to empower us to be ourselves out there like I asked him like “Yo coach what you what you want from me?” He said “Be you off the court on the court be yourself.” Like and and that that just gave me you know the ultimate confidence that that this is going to be a great fit and great spot for me you’re famous for being strong and gritty i see it looks like something special on your wrist can you talk about that which which one the letters there this love yours no your bracelet this one this one says Baneville on it oh that’s what’s up yeah this is that’s uh that’s the neighborhood that um that I was raised in i was raised by my great-grandparents um and uh they both passed my my rookie year um during co so um it’s just like a little remembrance this is my AU team um I got a a nonprofit um foundation we’re running a a AAOU program out of Indiana where I’m from and that’s the name of the team i mean one of the team moms uh made them for for everybody so if she’s watching she’ll be happy that she getting a little shout out right now i know I know she worked hard on these when you see the magic office gave up a lot of potential for you four first round picks do you kind of embrace that or how do you embrace the expectations they have for you it’s it’s time to win you know i mean that’s it’s it’s pretty much simple as that you know if we do what we’re supposed to do those not to say the picks were invaluable but they would have fell in a place that um you know we have like I said we got a lot of young talent here already in the building and we have um a lot of talent at the top of the roster so um I I think it’s I think it was a perfect time um you know for the organization to do what they did and um I mean I was talking with my agent prior to everything going down after the season ended and you know if there was ever any chance I get traded like where’s some of the spots you want to go and I mean I promise you Orlando was was right at the top of the list so um it’s a it’s a perfect fit desmond do you get insulted at all that you hear Stephen A smith say the MA the Magic gave up too much he he he uh No I’ll just say the I’ll just say no no leave it at that my first day on the job yesterday Jeff Waltman you know said that you are highly regarded from the people that he talked to around the league just you know as a person compliment you as a person and as a player just what can fans expect from you as a person and a player i I want to get to know him um I want to get out in the community and um I I did felt like I did a decent job of that in Memphis and um it it changes your perspective on on it you know you got to turn this place into home like I I want to be able to go out to the grocery store and see people that I know and um have genuine relationships with them so I I think that that they’re going to get loyalty honesty um from from me um from from the start this is this is still a fairly young roster you’ve had probably more playoff experience than than everyone even though this team’s been to the playoffs the last two years what what can you impart you know having won a play having been part of a team that’s won a playoff series been part of a team that’s been a two seed in in the West or a top a top seed in the West what can you impart to to this young group as they prepare to grow and and really focus on winning as as the main goal it’s hard you know it’s it’s extremely hard to to win in this league um especially when at a high level and uh it starts with your process you know your your day-to-day process the way you you approach you know your workouts the way you approach what you’re eating how you’re sleeping um all those things are extremely important um on the path to success and um I’m sure they already have a lot of that but um I’m going to come in here and and uh stick to my roots and and hopefully lead by example that number three is is fitting for a guy that’s been one of the best in the last five years at shooting three ball just how do you help to help this team that desperately needs help in that three-point department do what I’ve done my whole life you know I mean make make shots um you know and and I think that’ll that’ll be enough last year Muel when he got traded he’s was I think vacationing with you or Yeah he was at It was crazy is there like a curse now on this house that you know N this one Yeah this one wasn’t at that house but yeah it it might be like it uh two summers in a row you know there’s trades going down since I got the crib so um what have your colleague said about just being traded and how that feels and what that means for you and your career every every situation’s different you know i mean I’m super thankful that I landed here my agent or not my agent my uh general manager like was telling me that I was getting traded and he before he told me where I was going my heart sank just because you know there’s 29 other teams outside the Grizzlies that I could have ended up and once he uh he said Orlando I mean I was smiling through the phone you know I I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful like I was moving on from Memphis that fast but I was genuinely excited about uh the the new opportunity obviously uh the number 22 is taken here in Orlando is there any significance behind choosing number three uh no I was thinking about nine um that was the day my grandma passed but um I just decided to go with three um shoot a shoot a bunch of threes i mean I guess that’s that’s about as far as it gets how how motivating is memories of your family and what are some of the other factors that motivate you yeah that that’s what that’s what drives me you know i mean they uh they were both retired um you know when they took me in so they uh they put a lot of time and effort into me that they didn’t necessarily have to um you know my grandpa’s one of them ones that was up cutting the grass trimming the hedges um my grandma she uh she did like alterations and um stuff like that so they stayed extremely active you know on top of all my sports stuff so I think like my work ethic um and just like my character um really really comes from them so carrying that on have you had any conversations with Paulo and France and everybody yet is one of those conversations like uh I talked to uh to Paulo just just briefly um I want to get to uh connect with him whether he’s in Seattle or wherever he’s at link up with him for a weekend and um we can get in the gym but lowkey put basketball to the side just get a chance to know him as a person um me and Frs have talked um asking him what he think about where he stays at and stuff like that just trying to get a feel for the city so I’m excited to connect with all the guys um I think it’s extremely important um the times that we were really good in Memphis our togetherness was was off the charts um so so I think that’s that’s got to be priority number one memphis has you know emphasized grit and grind culture orlando has a similar culture but it’s definitely defensive first what do you think about defense being a huge part of this identity and what you bring to that yeah I mean the both teams playing in the finals right now are are scrapping their butt off on defense um you know so I think that it’s no secret that you have to be a good defensive team to to get to where we’re trying to get to so um I’m going to fully embrace it um embody it and like I said whatever the team needs to win I’m I’m more than willing and capable what are your plans between now and training camp training wise uh I mean I’ve I’ve been uh like do working on my body a lot um early in the summer um I’ve been getting on the court um sporadically um after like Fourth of July is when I’ll kind of start picking it up and and ramping up a little bit but um like I said I would love to even whether it’s the we could go meet anywhere like and try to get the the guys together um just to just to hang out you know stay in touch or whatever and get get connected prior to to training camp hey when you look at the when you look at the finals the these young teams up and cominging teams in the finals where do the magic now with you fit in i mean is it wide open are you guys in that conversation i don’t see why not uh I’ I’ve haven’t been in the East so I I can’t speak to it as much as y’all probably can but um I I think that I mean if you just look at our roster and our team that um we’re we stack up right there with with anybody they they Shack and Penny days they call the heyday around here they just went back to the different logo with the pinstripes back to those days did you grow up watching some of that and is it motivating to you that you’re the first one to come in here to push that forward 1,000% um you know I was I was I’ll never say I was a big Magic fan cuz that’s not the truth but um I definitely you know followed and um you know was a fan of their success and and stuff like that but um it’s it’s super exciting um it’s a it’s a new era um make make some new memories and um push this thing forward back to to the success they they had in the in the past what team were you a fan of growing up i can’t say i can’t I can’t say i’m I’m embarrassed to say is everybody good thank you appreciate it appreciate it man
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1 comment
Shouldve been anfernee…..