BREAKING: Magic acquire Desmond Bane (KCP, Cole + 4 1st Round Picks + 1 1st Round Pick Swap)

[jezzerinho]

Pepe, I think you've gone from being a voice of reason on the delicate balance the FO just played themselves into, to doubling down on the overpay message way too much.

It's an overpay. That's barely up for debate. But not the egregious overpay you're suggesting. Siakam is probably the closest comparator in terms of level of player and recency. But Siakam was an expiring. Raptors had no leverage as Pacers had no certaintly to retain Pascal.

This deal is different. I think it's an overpay still and I really wonder if he's the best fit for what we need, but I don't think it's egregious.

What annoys me is Weltman acting one year late, having to back out of the KCP disaster he signed only a year before, missing out on the cap space he then had. I agree with Pepe that it was a bit of a panic move.

But as panic moves go, I could be a lot unhappier.

As to whether it will or won't turn us into a contender, there will be 100,000 words written here on the topic before the Game 1 tipoff of the next regular season - let alone next playoffs. And all of.those words will be worthless because we just don't know.

If - and it's a VERY big if - we can give Franz more initiation duties because his jumper is at least league average, if Suggs plays 60 RS games and the playoffs, if Paolo is team-first enough to defer a good chunk of usage possessions to the other 3 and if Bane's 3pt% holds up...... with all of those happening I think we can contend for a finals spot.

If it turns into another KCP 2.0 situation, we're royally screwed. But that seems unlikely.

[richi_v25]

To be honest I would have gave up 3 late first rd picks just so I don't have to watch the brickfest of Cole and KCP anymore. Gosh I really disliked watching them play minus the defense KCP would put out.

[bigdogdylan5]

I think if you’re skeptical of this trade it’s not because of Bane. It’s because you are concerned Paolo or Franz will not reach the level of a top 10 player that can carry a team. I get that. I disagree but I get it. There is no guarantees with this we’re a small market team and calculated risks will be needed. Everyone said Lewis contract was a massive overpay and it was but without him we don’t make it to the 2009 finals and are not as relevant as we were in that era. However it did bite us in the ass at the end. This deal could be similar but no one will care if we win the championship.

I keep saying it you can say what you want you can acquire whatever player you want but this team will go as far as Paolo and Franz can take us. I do think the league has moved past needing a traditional point guard as long as you have 4-5 guys on the floor at all times that can share the duties do it a little bit and can make smart decisions.

Yes and no.

I can believe Paolo and Franz are upper echelon scorers in the league. I can buy into the idea that they will become better shooters than they are currently. Neither of those things means they are distributors at a high level capable of running an offense efficiently.

Suggs and Bane are the Holiday and D.White here now in terms of extremely good supplemental players to surround your main guys with. The only problem with that is the fact that neither are actually point guards like both of those guys were on other teams at some point. And I’m not talking “in name only” I’m speaking on the basis of skillsets.

Bane was a calculated risk in an attempt to throw more firepower at perimeter shooting. It doesn’t solve how the offense is run. KCP was supposed to be that guy obviously and it didn’t work.

You say the league had moved past traditional point guards as a thing, but the 4 main conf finals and finals teams all have them and they are important. Brunson, Haliburton, SGA (he’s averaging 7 assists in the playoffs), as well as Holiday, Garland, Murray, and Curry. Frankly there aren’t a ton of teams built with “by committee” offense initiators. That’s just some cope people say to tell themselves it’s all fine.

You can have the take that the trade made Orlando better and that you are still concerned with how it all works long term because the team lacks very obvious foundational skillsets.

As you just said there are multiple ways to look at this. I do think Paolo and/or Franz have the potential to be the decision maker. I do think their struggles in terms of bad decisions and offense struggling and forcing have a lot to do with not much confidence in the team around them. This year you could see they lost all faith in anyone to make shots around them. So they said come hell or high water I will do it all. They are both very high IQ guys and as they get older the game will keep slowing down for them.

I think we have a point guard in Suggs. We disagree on that and that’s fine. You can just label my opinions as cope because you don’t agree with them. I think the magic are betting on someone to emerge between Suggs Black Franz Paolo hell even Bane could continue to level up in that regard. I will take that bet all day everyday. The youth of our guys has to be taken in to account and the point guard position is the second hardest position in sports after the QB. Sometimes you need patience

[VFX]

I think if you’re skeptical of this trade it’s not because of Bane. It’s because you are concerned Paolo or Franz will not reach the level of a top 10 player that can carry a team. I get that. I disagree but I get it. There is no guarantees with this we’re a small market team and calculated risks will be needed. Everyone said Lewis contract was a massive overpay and it was but without him we don’t make it to the 2009 finals and are not as relevant as we were in that era. However it did bite us in the ass at the end. This deal could be similar but no one will care if we win the championship.

I keep saying it you can say what you want you can acquire whatever player you want but this team will go as far as Paolo and Franz can take us. I do think the league has moved past needing a traditional point guard as long as you have 4-5 guys on the floor at all times that can share the duties do it a little bit and can make smart decisions.

Yes and no.

I can believe Paolo and Franz are upper echelon scorers in the league. I can buy into the idea that they will become better shooters than they are currently. Neither of those things means they are distributors at a high level capable of running an offense efficiently.

Suggs and Bane are the Holiday and D.White here now in terms of extremely good supplemental players to surround your main guys with. The only problem with that is the fact that neither are actually point guards like both of those guys were on other teams at some point. And I’m not talking “in name only” I’m speaking on the basis of skillsets.

Bane was a calculated risk in an attempt to throw more firepower at perimeter shooting. It doesn’t solve how the offense is run. KCP was supposed to be that guy obviously and it didn’t work.

You say the league had moved past traditional point guards as a thing, but the 4 main conf finals and finals teams all have them and they are important. Brunson, Haliburton, SGA (he’s averaging 7 assists in the playoffs), as well as Holiday, Garland, Murray, and Curry. Frankly there aren’t a ton of teams built with “by committee” offense initiators. That’s just some cope people say to tell themselves it’s all fine.

You can have the take that the trade made Orlando better and that you are still concerned with how it all works long term because the team lacks very obvious foundational skillsets.

so you need willing passers and a good offensive scheme. But how many times do you see Haliburton on the court, and the ball is brought up by Nembhard or Siakam? How many times it the ball brought up by Caruso, Wallace? SGA is playing way more SG than PG. I would say with the emphasis on overall defense, a team needs more than 1 ball handler and be willing passers instead of players bouncing the air out of the ball

Yeah we agree here.

All of those guys you listed aside from maybe Siakam in transition are elite ball handlers. Nembhard is a point guard. Wallace is a point guard. Both of those teams have 3-4 guys that CAN move the ball and handle on the perimeter to create offense at the point of attack while also having the ability to shoot to draw defenses out.

Hell, even TJ McConnell on this team would provide such crazy movement people would be like “Ingles who?”. Like we still talk about Joe Ingles here like he was god because he could actually move the damn ball and make things happen on the floor.

Yeah we agree there. Paolo and Franz are not guys looking to do anything with the ball other than score off the dribble inside. When that doesn’t work they kick it out to a shooter. Thats been the entire gameplan here so far. Maybe Bane or Suggs start running more action outside now that both can draw teams out a little more than previously.

[JoshuaPotter]

I will NOT be arguing here that the team isn’t infinitely better than last season full stop. It is absolutely better.

Throwing 4x firsts at someone should make your team increasingly better I would hope. Bane is 100x better on offense than KCP and that’s what they paid for on top of getting rid of him.

My only issue with the picks comes down to roster depth. I argued this here lately in other terms for hypothetical deals just due to the lack of movement to round out the roster in other ways. But that’s the cost of doing business. Orlando had no other real assets and moving Suggs wasn’t on the table apparently (thank god).

The sticker shock is a lot, but I agree that the picks themselves aren’t as huge as landing real talent now because of the window and timeframe.

Yeah, I get that Orlando was injured last season. I’m not going to chalk up poorly run offense though to that wholesale. Paolo and Franz will still have the ball in their hands 90% of the time and that’s not going to change now even with a more efficient shooter that does things better offensively.

Many people considered Reshard Lewis an overpay at the time and he ended up being the missing piece to get us to the finals while we sported a starting SG acquired with a 20s pick in Courtney Lee.

Ok so my comment above isn't to add to the post. But it is as I said in the last post I quoted you on. It's closing time at the bar, and the hand you have is the held your dealt.

I expect us to be a 50+ win team for the next 4 years in the east. Anything else would be a letdown and the headcoach will be the first to go.

We already have plenty of picks and players to grow into positions that we didn't need to keep adding 6+ rookies in 5 years. I don't like the unprotected aspect, but realistically if you keep Paolo for the term of his upcoming max deal then this is actually cheap. On paper, we have Anthony Black and Suggs to keep / toy with the roster and see whom if either pans out if not eventually trade for a Derrick White type point guard. (there I said it, take your shot and like it.)

Totally with you on the Rashard Lewis parallel, people forget how loudly that move was criticized until it worked. This deal has a similar profile: high cost, immediate fit, elite shooting, and a clear win-now signal. If Paolo signs the max and we keep this core healthy, these picks will age just fine. We're paying for spacing, experience, and playoff equity, not hoping another mid-first develops in time. And you're right if AB or Suggs pop, we’re golden. If not, we still have room to pivot.

See my player grades post for more consideration on my feelings on whom we traded.

We gave up 2 8ppg scorers and 4 "?" for a sure 20ppg scorer high eff scorer. You add that Black can still develop and Suggs doesn't forget to shoot the 3-ball and suddenly we are as top heavy as a good team should be.

This move like it or not makes us a 50+ win team in the east as it stands. We still retain a couple of picks to shore up gaps with high floor low ceiling guys. On top of that, we should also be a 50+ win team at minimum the next 4 years. Paolo + Franz just "aren't going to get better" in 4 years? A silly notion.

If we keep Moe we break the ceiling with potentially a top 10 offense / defense. I doubt offense, but hey, healthy us, its possible I guess.

The 3pt % thing is all on Franz and Paolo to figure out. If they were league average we would be league average, and probably a 50+ win team without Baine. (There I SAID IT.)

[dsg2021]

I’m conflicted. I LOVE Bane but we didn’t acquire a PG.

There just really isn't one to acquire. That's what I've been saying for over a year. Who at that position that is actually available? I can't think of anybody which is why I thought they should take another stab at drafting one.

100% this. There’s no one out there like “ohh he is like a poor man Haliburton” or “ohh he is like a slightly less older CP3 from 4 years ago”. There were so many flaws with the PG’s that I ended up with another stab at a draft day trade up into Tre Johnson and by that theme a Kasparas and Kon made sense too. Then MLE on a guard like NAW. And a trade to upgrade WCJ. All three of which pale to the Bane acquisition unless I was more right on Tre Johnson than I even thought.

[AR86]

In my opinion, it was a great trade. We gave up four first-round picks, but also got rid of the expensive KCP (under contract for two more years) and received a very, very good support star who’s just entering his prime — and already signed. It’s a huge upgrade. I never expected this.

Actually, I think Bane is a much better addition to our team than Young, Ball, or anyone else who was discussed.

Picks are, of course, important assets... but now, with Paolo and Franz stepping up, it’s time to pay. Unless there are major injuries, those picks will likely be in the 20s (again: TDS, Cole, Jett, Chuma, Bamba…)

Once again, I never expected this.

[tiderulz]

Yes and no.

I can believe Paolo and Franz are upper echelon scorers in the league. I can buy into the idea that they will become better shooters than they are currently. Neither of those things means they are distributors at a high level capable of running an offense efficiently.

Suggs and Bane are the Holiday and D.White here now in terms of extremely good supplemental players to surround your main guys with. The only problem with that is the fact that neither are actually point guards like both of those guys were on other teams at some point. And I’m not talking “in name only” I’m speaking on the basis of skillsets.

Bane was a calculated risk in an attempt to throw more firepower at perimeter shooting. It doesn’t solve how the offense is run. KCP was supposed to be that guy obviously and it didn’t work.

You say the league had moved past traditional point guards as a thing, but the 4 main conf finals and finals teams all have them and they are important. Brunson, Haliburton, SGA (he’s averaging 7 assists in the playoffs), as well as Holiday, Garland, Murray, and Curry. Frankly there aren’t a ton of teams built with “by committee” offense initiators. That’s just some cope people say to tell themselves it’s all fine.

You can have the take that the trade made Orlando better and that you are still concerned with how it all works long term because the team lacks very obvious foundational skillsets.

so you need willing passers and a good offensive scheme. But how many times do you see Haliburton on the court, and the ball is brought up by Nembhard or Siakam? How many times it the ball brought up by Caruso, Wallace? SGA is playing way more SG than PG. I would say with the emphasis on overall defense, a team needs more than 1 ball handler and be willing passers instead of players bouncing the air out of the ball

Yeah we agree here.

All of those guys you listed aside from maybe Siakam in transition are elite ball handlers. Nembhard is a point guard. Wallace is a point guard. Both of those teams have 3-4 guys that CAN move the ball and handle on the perimeter to create offense at the point of attack while also having the ability to shoot to draw defenses out.

Hell, even TJ McConnell on this team would provide such crazy movement people would be like “Ingles who?”. Like we still talk about Joe Ingles here like he was god because he could actually move the damn ball and make things happen on the floor.

Yeah we agree there. Paolo and Franz are not guys looking to do anything with the ball other than score off the dribble inside. When that doesn’t work they kick it out to a shooter. Thats been the entire gameplan here so far. Maybe Bane or Suggs start running more action outside now that both can draw teams out a little more than previously.

and i thought i remember hearing about a new offensive assistant coach. we can only hope

[VFX]

I think if you’re skeptical of this trade it’s not because of Bane. It’s because you are concerned Paolo or Franz will not reach the level of a top 10 player that can carry a team. I get that. I disagree but I get it. There is no guarantees with this we’re a small market team and calculated risks will be needed. Everyone said Lewis contract was a massive overpay and it was but without him we don’t make it to the 2009 finals and are not as relevant as we were in that era. However it did bite us in the ass at the end. This deal could be similar but no one will care if we win the championship.

I keep saying it you can say what you want you can acquire whatever player you want but this team will go as far as Paolo and Franz can take us. I do think the league has moved past needing a traditional point guard as long as you have 4-5 guys on the floor at all times that can share the duties do it a little bit and can make smart decisions.

Yes and no.

I can believe Paolo and Franz are upper echelon scorers in the league. I can buy into the idea that they will become better shooters than they are currently. Neither of those things means they are distributors at a high level capable of running an offense efficiently.

Suggs and Bane are the Holiday and D.White here now in terms of extremely good supplemental players to surround your main guys with. The only problem with that is the fact that neither are actually point guards like both of those guys were on other teams at some point. And I’m not talking “in name only” I’m speaking on the basis of skillsets.

Bane was a calculated risk in an attempt to throw more firepower at perimeter shooting. It doesn’t solve how the offense is run. KCP was supposed to be that guy obviously and it didn’t work.

You say the league had moved past traditional point guards as a thing, but the 4 main conf finals and finals teams all have them and they are important. Brunson, Haliburton, SGA (he’s averaging 7 assists in the playoffs), as well as Holiday, Garland, Murray, and Curry. Frankly there aren’t a ton of teams built with “by committee” offense initiators. That’s just some cope people say to tell themselves it’s all fine.

You can have the take that the trade made Orlando better and that you are still concerned with how it all works long term because the team lacks very obvious foundational skillsets.

I think we have a point guard in Suggs. We disagree on that and that’s fine. You can just label my opinions as cope because you don’t agree with them. I think the magic are betting on someone to emerge between Suggs Black Franz Paolo hell even Bane could continue to level up in that regard. I will take that bet all day everyday. The youth of our guys has to be taken in to account and the point guard position is the second hardest position in sports after the QB. Sometimes you need patience

I can buy someone thinking Suggs is a point guard or at least CAN develop some kind of floor game. Thats an argument that someone could have despite the direct evidence he is currently. Thats not really delusional thinking.

The cope is saying that none of those skillsets or positional abilities matter because the offense “will figure itself out” somehow. That Orlando reinventing the wheel with 22-24 year olds in a position-less system without those foundational skillsets, or play-calling from Mosely, will 100% solve itself because they got a great shooter for 4 firsts.

I don’t think it’s delusional or doomer to be concerned with that even though this trade made Orlando better.

[dsg2021]

So let me get this straight Weltman upgraded

Gary Harris
To
KCP
To
Bane

In 3 seasons and Orlando still doesn’t have a point guard on the roster.

He still doesn’t get that the offense is bad because of ball movement.

This has been the most fascinating and interesting debate of the whole summer to me.

The push and pull between we need playmaking more than shooting. Or shooting more than playmaking.

It feels like our board came out 60% for playmaking over shooting, as opposed to 40% the other way around.

I went with the 40% opinion because Franz and Paolo are the monsters that opposing teams can’t solve. And they are still too young for me.
You can’t pluck a Haliburton out of nowhere either. If CoJo was getting us into offensive sets quite well like he did then we also don’t need to go as crazy on a playmaking upgrade as we thought. In some ways, I think a pure PG and a pure Center with switchable defensive skill are now much easier to scout for the Magic than any other positions. We know all the other starting spots and the top 7-ish rotation. Any PG’s and Bigs we look at get that extra level of accurate scouting — how do they fit precisely next to the 3-man and 4-man combos of Bane, Suggs, Franz, Paolo.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Interesting conversation on 96.9 the game with Weltman, basically this was our all-in move and kept depth. I would be shocked if we made another move outside of using the MLE and taking a PF/C at 25. I'm also not sure Moe Wagner is coming back unless he takes a stupid cheap deal or a 1 year deal.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Yes and no.

I can believe Paolo and Franz are upper echelon scorers in the league. I can buy into the idea that they will become better shooters than they are currently. Neither of those things means they are distributors at a high level capable of running an offense efficiently.

Suggs and Bane are the Holiday and D.White here now in terms of extremely good supplemental players to surround your main guys with. The only problem with that is the fact that neither are actually point guards like both of those guys were on other teams at some point. And I’m not talking “in name only” I’m speaking on the basis of skillsets.

Bane was a calculated risk in an attempt to throw more firepower at perimeter shooting. It doesn’t solve how the offense is run. KCP was supposed to be that guy obviously and it didn’t work.

You say the league had moved past traditional point guards as a thing, but the 4 main conf finals and finals teams all have them and they are important. Brunson, Haliburton, SGA (he’s averaging 7 assists in the playoffs), as well as Holiday, Garland, Murray, and Curry. Frankly there aren’t a ton of teams built with “by committee” offense initiators. That’s just some cope people say to tell themselves it’s all fine.

You can have the take that the trade made Orlando better and that you are still concerned with how it all works long term because the team lacks very obvious foundational skillsets.

so you need willing passers and a good offensive scheme. But how many times do you see Haliburton on the court, and the ball is brought up by Nembhard or Siakam? How many times it the ball brought up by Caruso, Wallace? SGA is playing way more SG than PG. I would say with the emphasis on overall defense, a team needs more than 1 ball handler and be willing passers instead of players bouncing the air out of the ball

Yeah we agree here.

All of those guys you listed aside from maybe Siakam in transition are elite ball handlers. Nembhard is a point guard. Wallace is a point guard. Both of those teams have 3-4 guys that CAN move the ball and handle on the perimeter to create offense at the point of attack while also having the ability to shoot to draw defenses out.

Hell, even TJ McConnell on this team would provide such crazy movement people would be like “Ingles who?”. Like we still talk about Joe Ingles here like he was god because he could actually move the damn ball and make things happen on the floor.

Yeah we agree there. Paolo and Franz are not guys looking to do anything with the ball other than score off the dribble inside. When that doesn’t work they kick it out to a shooter. Thats been the entire gameplan here so far. Maybe Bane or Suggs start running more action outside now that both can draw teams out a little more than previously.

Bane also was Memphis's 2nd playmaker so I can see why Weltman went after him, now we just need to see Paolo/Bane PnR being run and Franz/Bane PnR being run vs the crap we saw last year.

[pepe1991]

I don't want to reply to 500 people

If they prove me wrong, i'll take my bawl of crow with smile.

[dsg2021]

At this point, I am all in on using the full MLE for another upgrade.

Try and win the Eastern Conference next year.

Insert Jack Nicholson yesss, yess meme here

[JoshuaPotter]

In my opinion, it was a great trade. We gave up four first-round picks, but also got rid of the expensive KCP (under contract for two more years) and received a very, very good support star who’s just entering his prime — and already signed. It’s a huge upgrade. I never expected this.

Actually, I think Bane is a much better addition to our team than Young, Ball, or anyone else who was discussed.

Picks are, of course, important assets... but now, with Paolo and Franz stepping up, it’s time to pay. Unless there are major injuries, those picks will likely be in the 20s (again: TDS, Cole, Jett, Chuma, Bamba…)

Once again, I never expected this.

In my opinion, I agree. I didn't expect this.

The "unprotected" part is what stings. That feels like a huge overpay in the world of "conditional 1st up the wazoo". Yet, if it pans out, these picks will be essential role players at best and we didn't give up so many of them (2 of our own) that I feel like we were robbed.

This was, in essence, a job saving / ending move by the front office. It was closing time at the bar, your time to make a move to acquire the player you should have years ago is up. You don't do it today, your team is in salary cap hades and reliant on those first 4 1st picks to find a diamond in the rough or win the lotto in terms of sleeper picks.

[JoshuaPotter]

I don't want to reply to 500 people

If they prove me wrong, i'll take my bawl of crow with smile.

Forum rules dictate you have to do a charity bet with Knightro not eat crow.

[cedric76]

Jeff was on open mike

https://969thegame.iheart.com/featured/open-mike/content/2025-06-16-jeff-weltman-we-saved-our-draft-picks-for-a-deal-like-this/

Mentioned that he is happy that we kept our core guys (and mentioned AB, TDS, JI and goga)

So

Suggs, AB,
Bane, ??? , Gary
Franz, TDS, Houstan
Paolo, JI
Wcj, goga

I think we ll pick option on Houstan
I d love to keep Gary for the min vet (3.6 M ish)
I think we ll package our 2 FRP to draft 1 rookie (a big likely)

Still many questions to be answered

Jett still in the picture? I hope so (booker lite 3.0 lol)
Who do we pick with 25? (Clayton jr could be good in a Cole role)
Are we offering cojo a new min vet deal?
Are we gonna be Able to retain Moe?

[thelead]

Interesting conversation on 96.9 the game with Weltman, basically this was our all-in move and kept depth. I would be shocked if we made another move outside of using the MLE and taking a PF/C at 25. I'm also not sure Moe Wagner is coming back unless he takes a stupid cheap deal or a 1 year deal.

Losing Mo would be extremely disappointing. They better not let that happen.

[fendilim]

I don’t think Orlando overpaid at face value.

Yeah. The picks limit them from adding talent to round out the roster depth. Also, should something happen to Suggs or Bane that will be a very real problem not being able to address roster depth because nobody off the bench can create like that until further notice.

Two of the picks are negligible in that way. They made an all-in trade and Orlando shouldn’t be in the top of lotteries anymore if Mosely is actually a head coach and everything here translates well. Pick #16 is just a nice potentially fringe starter or off the bench guy.

The Phoenix pick was really the bigger asset here. But you cannot wait around really hoping they blow it up and are terrible. Orlando’s window is kinda now with Paolo expected to be signing a max and not 4 years from now with whoever that pick becomes.

My bigger issue with the trade is just personal basketball philosophy. We will have 4 guys on very good deals and still do not have a point guard. Suggs and Bane can mimic lead ball handlers, but they aren’t running action in a back court. They aren’t getting Paolo or Franz into action for easier baskets on ball. They inadvertently will based on how effective they happen to be off ball, which both of them are. Paolo, Franz, and Mosely still have to make things happen.

So yeah, Orlando paid handsomely for a very good player to a system that may or may not work. Bane is at the top of the charts positionally for what he does and I’m glad they made a move finally in 4 years. That being said, it address one total concern with this offense in shooting. And while shooting is absolutely an issue it wasn’t THE issue on offense. It was a symptom of why the offense wasn’t working.

That’s just a nuanced take here. It isn’t “trade good ur dumb if you disagree” simply because Weltman pushed all the future trade capital into the center for a top 5 positional guy. I get that it’s exciting. I just disagree that it’s the solution until we see it in action.

the thing i think about, we had massive injuries this year and still made the playoffs and our pick was #16. the new team is much better, the normal picks will be in the 20's and unless we lose 2 starters for multiple years, those picks will still be non-lottery picks.

I will NOT be arguing here that the team isn’t infinitely better than last season full stop. It is absolutely better.

Throwing 4x firsts at someone should make your team increasingly better I would hope. Bane is 100x better on offense than KCP and that’s what they paid for on top of getting rid of him.

My only issue with the picks comes down to roster depth. I argued this here lately in other terms for hypothetical deals just due to the lack of movement to round out the roster in other ways. But that’s the cost of doing business. Orlando had no other real assets and moving Suggs wasn’t on the table apparently (thank god).

The sticker shock is a lot, but I agree that the picks themselves aren’t as huge as landing real talent now because of the window and timeframe.

Yeah, I get that Orlando was injured last season. I’m not going to chalk up poorly run offense though to that wholesale. Paolo and Franz will still have the ball in their hands 90% of the time and that’s not going to change now even with a more efficient shooter that does things better offensively.

I concur, forming the depth of this team will be a challenge at this point, given the huge chunk of our salary cap is dedicated to only 4 players.

Two years ago, we had one of the best 2nd lineup in the league. In fact, when Mosely tried to shorted his rotation during the first two games of the Cavs series, it was pretty evident that we were crippling our team. Game 3 and on, he proceeded to go back to his regular season rotation and we were able to get the series to game 7. Our bench that year was one of the best that season.

Joe Ingles played a huge part of that bench. He was the driver that kept the motor going. He stabilized the offense and gave us valuable minutes setting up Moe Wagner whenever our bench needed buckets.

Bane is more than capable of doing that at a better rate. Bane will not be coming off the bench, but his minutes can be staggered so that he can be the primary playmaker, for the second unit, which he has proven that he is also capable of.

Imo, bench production or roster depth also really depends on who runs the show for that lineup.

As it stands right now, we can stagger Paolo/Franz/Bane to play with the secondary lineup of Black/Isaac/Moe and another player, I think that is a solid 5, still.

[fendilim]

Interesting conversation on 96.9 the game with Weltman, basically this was our all-in move and kept depth. I would be shocked if we made another move outside of using the MLE and taking a PF/C at 25. I'm also not sure Moe Wagner is coming back unless he takes a stupid cheap deal or a 1 year deal.

Losing Mo would be extremely disappointing. They better not let that happen.

I’d be shocked to see Moe gone next season.

I do believe they’ll just re-negotiate a new deal for him since he’ll be missing likely the first 3 months of the season.