Desmond Bane move was right for Magic, but Kevin Durant trade would be wrong for Raptors

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The Orlando Magic clearly felt the Eastern Conference was wide open and that they were a move away from being right in the mix.

Should the Toronto Raptors be thinking the same?

To recap recent NBA events: Boston superstar Jayson Tatum, who helped lead the Celtics to last year’s title and 61 wins this season, tore his Achilles last month and probably will miss at least the 2025-26 regular season (and players often take a couple of years to return to top form, if they ever do).

The Celtics now are expected to shed salary and perhaps take a “gap” year before returning to contention.

East-leading Cleveland bowed out weakly, winning only one game in the second round again, for the second straight season. A coming cap crunch could cost the team key reserves Ty Jerome (third in sixth man of the year voting) and Sam Merrill, and all-star guard Darius Garland just underwent a significant surgery and might not be in top form for a while.

Third-place New York doesn’t have a coach after surprisingly firing Tom Thibodeau despite a conference final appearance — the first for the Knicks since 2000 — and has little means to upgrade the roster.

Fifth-place Milwaukee won’t have Damian Lillard due to his own Achilles tear and could lose starters Brook Lopez or Gary Trent Jr. in free agency. They’ll also have the Giannis Antetokounmpo drama as a distraction until he’s finally traded.

Which brings us back to the Magic. Only three years removed from a conference-low 22 wins, Orlando won 47 just two years ago and, though just .500 this time around, only potential champion Oklahoma City was better defensively.

What was holding the Magic back? A lack of shooting. The team ranked 30th in the NBA in both three-point makes and accuracy.

With that in mind, coupled with the reality that the East is by no means loaded (even finalist Indiana started the year 10-15), Orlando traded for Memphis guard Desmond Bane on Sunday.

ESPN’s dramatic reporting “four unprotected first round picks” created instant vitriol toward the deal, but while Memphis got a lot for Bane, it seems a lot fairer than it appeared at first blush.

Bane is a perfect fit for Orlando, as good an addition as they could imagine. A career 41% three-point shooter (though he has dipped the past two years), who is nearly automatic on catch-and-shoot attempts and elite at pull-ups as well, Bane has also averaged over five assists a game the past two years and is an aggressive, effective defender, like the other Magic starters.

Alongside Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, Bane — who Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic has raved about from their time together in Memphis — theoretically propels Orlando toward the top of the conference.

What was the alternative for Magic boss Jeff Weltman, formerly Masai Ujiri’s No. 2 in Toronto? Stand pat or trade less for a lesser player? The East might not be there for the taking like this again anytime soon.

And, of the picks going out, only one (the 2030 Orlando first) has a real shot at being really high (it’s possible the 2026 Phoenix first could be decent, but ownership there is deadset on doing everything possible to be good in the near future, with little regard to the long-term consequences. It’s more likely later Suns picks are golden than that one).

The 16th pick this year in a draft seen as being weak after the lottery, probably isn’t anything special and, if Bane fits as well as projected, the 2028 Orlando first is probably in the 20s or so.

Weltman doesn’t make many trades and, when he does, he’s known as a grinder (he was a key reason the Raptors got Milwaukee to include a second-round pick which turned out to be Norman Powell, in addition to the first rounder that was OG Anunoby in a one-sided 2015 deal for Greivis Vasquez). Clearly he was comfortable with the cost of doing business.

The question now is: Should his pal and former boss Ujiri be as well?

Should the Raptors see the East — and their place in it — similarly to how the Magic did?

Trading whatever it takes for Giannis would be one thing (even if at the moment insiders don’t think he’ll be moved anytime soon), throwing in for someone like Kevin Durant quite another.

On paper, Toronto doesn’t look as close to contending as the Magic. That team now has three players (all under 26) capable of averaging around 20 points and five assists a game and is outstanding defensively. They really were one ideal piece away from relevance.

Does anyone besides maybe Ujiri and his staff feel the same about the Raptors? Brandon Ingram should help (if he can stay on the court, which has rarely happened in the past) and he’d better since Toronto happens to be 29th, right behind Orlando, in three-point makes and was only 23rd in accuracy.

Durant’s also 37, 11 years Bane’s senior, and has had a few significant injuries. Plus, to make the math work (without bringing in a third team), Toronto would have to trade Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett and either Gradey Dick or Ochai Agbaji (plus any picks required to satisfy the Suns), or Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley, leaving the club without a starting centre — which history has shown goes very poorly for the Raptors.

The Raptors need help for Poeltl and a succession plan (potentially at next week’s draft). They can’t move the big man right now and expect to be competitive, even with Durant.

Orlando was in one spot. Toronto’s in another.

@WolstatSun