Ja Morant had a 125-82 record in games he played with Desmond Bane.
Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
The Memphis Grizzlies’ iconic trio with Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane breaks down with one of the most prominent trades of this summer. Desmond Bane was traded to Orlando Magic on Sunday morning for a package centered around four unprotected first-round picks and one swap.
ESON’s Shams Charania reported that Memphis are trading Desmond Bane to the Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap. It brings an opportunity for the Grizzlies to add a quality defensive wing and a major haul of draft picks to utilize, as per Charania. Grizzlies picked Desmond Bane as the 30th pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
BREAKING: The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/UcQnmHbgZb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2025
Morant Drops His Emotions after Desmond Bane’s Move to Orlando, Wishes His Teammate Farewell
After knowing the trade story, Desmond Bane’s teammate Ja Morant made the first reaction on his social media handle. The Memphis All-Star wished him farewell and shared a beautiful picture in Memphis team jersey.
Morant shared a photo of himself and Bane with the caption in his Instagram story, “Same shii gang.” Morant further added with, “Shii tough but we 🔒 forever. ♾️ Go be great brudda @_dbane1.”
Watching Desmond Bane moving away from Ja Morant felt like the separation of the “Splash Brothers.” Stephen Curry watched Klay Thompson go last year during the Warriors’ trade with the Mavericks. Curry and Thompson still share a good bond and we will see the same when Bane will take on Morant in the NBA next season.
Ja Morant had a 125-82 record in games he played with Desmond Bane, according to StatMuse. It shows the value of this duo to the Memphis Grizzlies, who made into the NBA playoffs in 2024-25 season. With a 60.4% winning percentage, Morant and Bane helped Memphis to become a formidable squad in the West.
During the five years, Desmond Bane guided Memphis Grizzlies to the NBA postseason four times but only made it past the first round once. This year, they qualified to the playoffs through Play-In tournament but were thrashed by the Western Conference champions, OKC Thunder. Grizzlies will get Kentavious Caldwell-Pope into the starting lineup in place of Bane, who was underperformer this season. Cole Anthony will also be a good asset for Memphis and it’s important to see how they use him in the roster.
On the other side, Bane’s arrival will surely help Orlando Magic to make an impact in the East. This season, the Magic finished 7th in the regular-season and reached the NBA playoffs where the Celtics knocked them out 4-1 in the first-round series.
Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images