Grizzlies' Desmond Bane (22) and Jaylen Wells (0) high five fans after the Grizzlies defeated the Pelicans 139-126 at FedExForum on Friday, January 24, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaylen Wells Reveals Impact of Desmond Bane Trade

Originally posted on Memphis Grizzlies on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 7:37 PM ET

The Memphis Grizzlies will have a new look to them next season, in large part due to their trading away of Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic. However, there's plenty of talent on the wings for Memphis, and the NBA Summer League is an opportunity for those players to shine.

Unfortunately, fans won't get a glimpse of first-round pick Cedric Coward, but they have gotten a look at second-year Jaylen Wells. Going from second-round pick to All-Rookie First Team was a massive accomplishment, but now he has an opportunity to take another step with Bane gone. After their loss to the Boston Celtics in the Summer League, he opened up about that next step.

shoutout to Jaylen Wells man pic.twitter.com/1oRqdbJGve
— eric (@EricTweetsNBA) July 11, 2025

"Just stepping up with the ball in my hands more," Wells said in terms of what's next for his offensive game after Bane's departure. "Just something I'm trying to work on during Summer League. Just being more confident doing it. Kind of lost a lot of scoring with [Desmond] gone, so the opportunity is there to fill in that spot and I'm just trying to do the best I can."

Not only was Bane valuable to Memphis as a scorer, as he averaged 21.1 points per game across the last three seasons, but he also brought value as a playmaker. This past season, Bane averaged 5.3 assists per game, which was good enough for second-best on the team last year.