New Magic swingman Desmond Bane feels good about how he’ll fit alongside star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, telling Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com that he thinks his skill set “complements those guys very well” and will help “open up the floor for them to attack and do their thing.” Bane also pointed to Orlando’s roster versatility when asked why he’s confident about the team’s ability to be a contender in 2025/26.
“I think we can play so many different lineups,” he told Medina. “We have so many different handlers. We have so many different screeners. We have guys that can get baskets one-on-one when the game slows down and you get into crunch time. So we really have a lot of tools on this roster.
“It’s always easy to talk this highly at this time of the year. But once you get into December, some guys are playing well, some guys aren’t, some guys are in the rotation, some guys aren’t. That’s when teams really have a choice to come together or split. So we have a long way to go. It’s a long journey. But we got good people in the building and people that work hard and care. So I think that gives us a chance. That’s all you can ask for.”
Bane will be playing for a new team for the first time since entering the NBA in 2020 — he spent his first five professional seasons with the Grizzlies, who traded him to Orlando in June. Speaking to Medina, the 27-year-old made it clear he harbors no ill will toward his former team for ending their relationship over the summer.
“I’m rooting for Memphis 80 games out of the year,” Bane said. “I hope they do well. I got a lot of guys out of there that are up for contracts and things like that. So I want it to work out for them and that they get everything that they deserve. So I’m looking forward toward seeing how they do, and hoping for the best of them. There’s no bad blood at all.”
We have more from around the Southeast:
- Heat guard Dru Smith, who tore his Achilles last December, has resumed five-on-five work, a league source tells Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). Smith re-signed with Miami this summer on a three-year, minimum-salary deal, though only the first season is guaranteed.
- The Hawks put out a press release this week announcing several hires and promotions in their basketball operations department. Most notably, Brittni Donaldson has moved from an assistant coaching role to the front office as Atlanta’s director of basketball development, methodology, and integration, while Mychel Thompson (Klay Thompson‘s brother) has been hired as a pro scout.
- While Wizards general manager Will Dawkins assured fans on Wednesday that the front office has a “very clear vision” for its rebuild, he offered few specifics about the plan to turn the team from one of the league’s worst into a legitimate contender, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. With that in mind, Robbins reads between the lines of Dawkins’ comments in an effort to highlight the primary components of the Wizards’ approach to rebuilding, including casting a wide net for young talent, maintaining financial flexibility, and doing a good job scouting their own players.
- In a mailbag for The Charlotte Observer (subscription required), Rod Boone explains why he views Collin Sexton and Mason Plumlee as strong candidates to start for the Hornets and evaluates whether an in-season Miles Bridges trade is likely, among other topics.