The Grizzlies — from Mikal Bridges to OG Anunoby to Orlando’s own Franz Wagner — have made several aggressive trade pursuits of their own laden with draft capital in recent years, league sources say.
Source: marcstein.substack.com
Source: marcstein.substack.com
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Orlando acquires Desmond Bane from Memphis for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four firsts
Bane is a fantastic fit next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner (the pick-and-roll possibilities are enticing), but four picks is A LOT.
nbcsports.com/nba/news/repor… – 12:27 PM
Report: Orlando acquires Desmond Bane from Memphis for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four firsts
Bane is a fantastic fit next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner (the pick-and-roll possibilities are enticing), but four picks is A LOT.
nbcsports.com/nba/news/repor… – 12:27 PM
Yossi Gozlan @YossiGozlan
The Magic aren’t only investing in draft equity. It’s a major investment in their payroll and beyond.
Franz Wagner: $41.8 million
Desmond Bane: $39.5 million
Jalen Suggs: $37.4 million
Paolo Banchero’s expected max: $42.5-$51 million
2026-27 payroll and tax could exceed $350 – 11:22 AM
The Magic aren’t only investing in draft equity. It’s a major investment in their payroll and beyond.
Franz Wagner: $41.8 million
Desmond Bane: $39.5 million
Jalen Suggs: $37.4 million
Paolo Banchero’s expected max: $42.5-$51 million
2026-27 payroll and tax could exceed $350 – 11:22 AM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
If Tyrese Haliburton wanted to score more, he easily could.
We’ve seen him dust Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mikal Bridges, and Alex Caruso repeatedly this spring – 10:34 PM
If Tyrese Haliburton wanted to score more, he easily could.
We’ve seen him dust Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mikal Bridges, and Alex Caruso repeatedly this spring – 10:34 PM
More on this storyline
Brian Windhorst: I definitely think he’s got interest in the Knicks. He has interest in the Knicks going back six, seven years when he was a free agent in 2019. He chose the Nets, but he’s got interest in the Knicks. The reality is this: You’re either trading an in-your-prime All-NBA player under long-term controlled contract in Karl Towns or to make the math work and make it a legal trade, you’re probably trading three rotation players, two high-level rotation players like an OG Anunoby and a Mitchell Robinson, something like that. And so the Knicks are already short on the rotation players. -via YouTube / June 13, 2025
Doug Smith: The question is if you think the remaining players will develop, just as that group of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Jakob Poeltl did. Not to that level — that’s a historic young group no one’s come close to matching — but if it can come close, that’s pretty darn good. Again, the odds of doing a Giannis deal are long but the remnants of paying a steep price isn’t too bad. -via Toronto Star / June 2, 2025
Now they enter the offseason with Anunoby, Brunson and Hart signed through 2028 and Towns and Miles “Deuce” McBride signed through 2027. Bridges and Robinson are entering the final years of their contracts. It’s too early for them to lock in any major decisions about the roster, though Bridges’ next deal will be a story of the summer. He becomes eligible for a four-year, $156 million extension before next season. -via New York Times / June 1, 2025
Sam Amick: With Thibs, though—man, sometimes it just feels like the obvious thing gets overlooked. They just did something they haven’t done in a quarter century. That probably means he should continue doing the job. To my knowledge, there wasn’t a player revolt. There wasn’t disharmony in the locker room. Of course, there was some discussion—mostly led by Mikal Bridges—about playing time at times, but still. It’s crazy. They got to the conference finals. This is a franchise that’s been in the dumps for a long time. They’ve had a few good years, but still—it’s a little nuts. One of the more wild firings we’ve seen in a while.” -via YouTube / June 5, 2025
When it comes to available coaches, longtime Villanova coach Jay Wright — who has long expressed a reluctance to make the leap to the NBA — and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Johnnie Bryant quickly emerged as presumed likely candidates … emphasis on presumed. Wright is obviously close with the Knicks’ former Villanova trio of Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges but, again, has repeatedly said that he does not have NBA coaching aspirations. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 4, 2025
Erik Slater: Mikal Bridges attempted 0.8 free throws per 36 minutes during the playoffs. He attempted 7.0 per 36 with the Nets in 2023 after the PHX trade. The role is obviously different, but it’s been strange to see such a dramatic shift in his confidence and mindset over the last 2 years. -via Twitter @erikslater_ / June 1, 2025
Shams Charania: Magic President Jeff Weltman made clear the franchise was taking an aggressive, win-now approach to this offseason, and they kicked off the summer Sunday by adding Bane to the core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. -via x.com / June 15, 2025
Yossi Gozlan: The Magic aren’t only investing in draft equity. It’s a major investment in their payroll and beyond. Franz Wagner: $41.8 million Desmond Bane: $39.5 million Jalen Suggs: $37.4 million Paolo Banchero’s expected max: $42.5-$51 million 2026-27 payroll and tax could exceed $350 million. -via Bluesky / June 15, 2025
Perhaps the most glaring difference in Wagner’s play pre- and post-injury was his 3-point shot. Expectedly, the amount of time he missed disrupted his rhythm, and his form from distance changed. “If you look at the numbers, it probably did a little bit,” Wagner said when asked if the injury which occurred on the same of his body as where he shoots from impacted his form. “Sometimes, it got slower and a little bit less fluid. So, those things I’m going to work on.” -via Orlando Sentinel / May 4, 2025