Orlando Magic's Jeff Weltman Waited For Perfect Opportunity To Land Desmond Bane

After a disappointing first-round exit to the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman struck a serious tone during exit interviews. He made it clear the top priority was adding proven shot creators to support the team’s win-now approach. Patiently waiting for the right opportunity, he landed Desmond Bane in a blockbuster deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.

During a conversation with Mike Bianchi on 96.9 The Game, Weltman expressed even if it meant giving up part of their future, Bane was the type of player the Magic had been patiently waiting for an opportunity to pursue.

"We kind of had targeted deal like this for a while," Weltman said. "Holding our draft picks, waiting for the right time, waiting for the right player, this is a pretty significant move for us. I think that it clearly states our objective to be highly competitive in the East and in the league immediately. But what we're hopeful is, we first hit the reset button on this thing to build a sustainable winner, we want to do this in a way that we can be highly competitive and remain highly competitive. And it was really important to us that Desmond checked a lot of different boxes for us, and most importantly, on the age profile, because we expect this team to be together for a while."