D-Wade breaks down why Desmond Bane doesn’t push the Magic over the hump: “I feel that there’s one more move that needs to be made” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Orlando Magic made a big splash early in the offseason when they acquired Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies. Bane, a career 41.0 percent 3-point shooter, is expected to help solve Orlando’s shooting woes from deep.
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However, while Desmond fills one of the Magic’s most significant needs, Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade doesn’t think Bane is the missing piece that puts the Magic in title contention.
“I like Bane for what he did in Memphis. I liked watching him grow. I thought he became a very good player. He is someone who is very dependable behind the line. I don’t want to say a knockdown shooter, but I know he can make shots. He can score and pass that ball. But I don’t think he puts them over the hump, though. I think it’s okay. It’s a cool trade, but when I heard the news and everybody was acting like this puts them in the Finals, I was like, hold on. What am I missing?” said Wade on his podcast.
The Magic ranked last in 3-point percentage during the 2024-25 season
Bane was the 30th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics but was traded to the Grizzlies. During five seasons in Memphis, he has developed into a reliable scorer. Desmond averaged over 20 points per game in two out of the last three seasons and has shot above 40 percent from 3-ball in three out of his five years in the league.
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Meanwhile, the Magic are coming off back-to-back Southeast Division titles. They have made the playoffs in each of the last two years but have ranked 24th and 30th in 3-point shooting percentage, respectively, during that span.
In their 2025 first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Orlando shot just 26.3 percent from deep and made just 41 3-pointers in five games against Boston’s 59. Although there were a lot of factors in that defeat, 3-point shooting was a big difference-maker.
“Now you have somebody who’s going to be high volume in the offense making shots,” Wade added, comparing Bane to the primary player the Magic gave up in the deal. “KCP is in the corner, so even though he can make shots, he’s not involved in the offense necessarily. This guy will have the ball in offense that can make shots, but I feel that there’s one more move that needs to be made.”
Redd said the Magic are going for the jugular
However, while D-Wade thinks that the Magic need one more trade, Michael Redd said that Orlando is officially going after the championship with the Bane trade. According to Redd, they already have a superstar in Paolo Banchero and a borderline All-Star in Franz Wagner.
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“Last summer, they chose KCP over Klay Thompson, a solid decision that kept expectations manageable while Paolo and Franz continued developing. Now, a year later, with those young guys bonafide, the Magic recognized their window and made a real push,” wrote Redd on “X.”
“Bane’s shooting and two-way impact gives Orlando a legit chance to make a run in the East. Paolo is ascending, Franz is borderline All-Star, and now they have the pieces around them,” he added.
Redd does have a valid argument, as the Magic already have their 1-2 punch in Paolo and Franz. As we saw with this year’s Finalist, teams no longer need too many stars to win it all. What’s more important is having a deep rotation and 3-point shooting as the equalizer.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.