Blockbuster trade is consequence of Magic's disastrous free-agent signing

Last summer, the Magic committed three years and $66M to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a classic "three-and-D" wing who won rings in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers and in 2023 with the Denver Nuggets. Orlando's motivation was clear: Add a veteran wing who could improve the Magic's league-worst three-point totals.

But KCP didn't shoot nearly as well as he had in previous seasons, perhaps because he didn't have a superstar teammate like Nikola Jokic or LeBron James to draw defensive attention. Caldwell-Pope shot 34.2 percent from three-point range, a big step down from shooting 40.6 percent in 2023-24 and 42.3 percent in Denver's title-winning campaign. In the playoffs, he was down to 26.1 percent.

When Caldwell-Pope's shot isn't falling, he doesn't do a lot else on offense. He averaged only 1.8 assists and 1.2 free-throw attempts per game. Over 60 percent of his field-goal attempts were threes. It's no surprise that Orlando again finished last in the NBA in three-pointers.

With rookie extensions for Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs kicking in this season, Orlando couldn't afford to pay nearly $22M per year to a player who wasn't providing the main skill he was paid for. Cole Anthony, the other player in the trade, presented a similar problem. He was supposed to be a scorer off the bench, but shot only 35.3 percent from behind the arc — and he's making over $13M.

Bane should alleviate some of these issues. He's five years younger than KCP and a career 41 percent three-point shooter on 6.3 attempts per game. Bane can create his shot and shots for others, with 5.3 assists per game this past season. He often brought the ball up the floor for Memphis, and he's devastating in transition, shooting 48.5 percent on transition threes — Orlando was second worst in the NBA by shooting 31.2 percent in those situations last season.

Still, he probably wouldn't be worth four first-round picks if his old team wasn't also absorbing nearly $57M in unwanted salary. Orlando paid big to get its new shooting guard, but it also paid big to get rid of its old one.