The Fantasy Impact of the Desmond Bane Trade

On the morning of June 15th, 2025, we got our first huge trade of the NBA offseason. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Desmond Bane would be going to the Orlando Magic. In return, the Memphis Grizzlies received Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, and four unprotected first-round picks. Most people would agree that four unprotected picks are a steep price for Desmond Bane. I agree with this, but the Orlando Magic sees this Eastern Conference as wide open as it’s going to get in the near future. Seeing the Indiana Pacers make this NBA Finals run may convince the Magic that now is the time to buy.

Desmond Bane is a great fit with this current Magic team, no doubt. But, how does this affect fantasy basketball? Here are three main takeaways from the Desmond Bane trade.

The Fantasy Impact of the Desmond Bane Trade

1) The Usage of Ja Morant

Without question, I think Ja Morant is the main beneficiary of this trade. In 33 games without Desmond Bane, Morant averaged 26.5 points, 8.7 assists, and 6.7 rebounds per game. It’s a small sample size, but Morant put up career-highs in assists and rebounds. Also, six out of 12 of Morant’s career triple-doubles came in these 33 games. This is a crazy statistic, and I think it is going to be a consistent trend next season.

Knowing all of this, Ja Morant is going to shoot up my fantasy basketball rankings if the Grizzlies keep this core. Desmond Bane provided some off-ball value for Morant, but I think Ja’s usage rate will go up even more. I expect Morant to get a ton of pick-and-roll action drawn up for him. KCP can still provide some spacing, even though he had a down season.

2) Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs

I think the two biggest fantasy fallers from this trade are Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. For Wagner, some of the on-ball duties will shift towards Bane. I’m less worried about Wagner because he is the better overall player compared to Bane, and he will be able to score no matter what. Jalen Suggs is more worrisome in my opinion. He just came off a career year, averaging 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Suggs’ value is mostly on the defensive side of the basketball, though. With the Magic getting another good creator in Bane, I think Suggs’ duties will shift even more towards the defensive side of the basketball and spot-up shooting. Although Suggs just took a leap, I expect his counting stats to get a bit worse while still being a great player for the Magic.

3) Who will step up for the Grizzlies?

Losing a guy like Desmond Bane is always going to be a negative on the surface. The Grizzlies need a collection of players to step up for them to be successful. Before, I mentioned Ja Morant, but I expect their other All-Star in Jaren Jackson Jr., to take an offensive leap as well. He has to improve his shot creation if they want to get better. In terms of the guard position, Jaylen Wells is the obvious choice. In his rookie year, he averaged 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. He was also a very good defender throughout the season as well. Wells is the main person that I project to leap, but getting KCP back to that 2023 form would also be massive for the Grizzlies.

The Last Word

Overall, Desmond Bane on the Orlando Magic is going to be dangerous for the Eastern Conference. Bane is a perfect fit alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Magic have also been among the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA, and Bane will certainly help with that.

For the Grizzlies, you get four unprotected picks for a player that you gave a massive contract to. The Grizzlies had to change something up, so this move made sense for them this offseason. I think that Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs will get a bit worse for fantasy basketball, though Ja Morant will be rising up in my rankings by a good margin. Also, look out for Jaylen Wells to take that sophomore leap next season.