Is "Tyrannosaurus Rex" Bain really worth 4.5 first rounds?

When the Orlando Magic sent Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round swap to Memphis in exchange for "Tyrannosaurus" Bain, the entire league felt that the Magic was crazy. Fan media can't help but question: How can a defender with obvious wingspan flaws and never selected as an All-Star match such as astronomical bargaining chips? You should know that today's first-round draft picks are hard currency for trading, and they also have the championship puzzle, Pope Monk has potential Anthony.

Perhaps seeing the Pacers' achievements in the East made the young Magic jealous. They have been rebuilt for many years and finally established the two core teams of Bankairo and Wagner. Their biggest competitor is the Celtics, who built the team with a double front line, left the competition for next season due to the serious injury of Tatum's Achilles tendon. The Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals have fired the head coach. Even if the Pacers advance to the finals are powerful, they are not a truly strong team. And the Cavaliers, who were eliminated in the semi-finals, are just "paper tigers" with balanced strength, and the Bucks no longer have the strength they used to be.

The Magic chose to gamble in such an Eastern environment. They wanted to make a move. Of course, this also stems from the team's fatal weakness that the team cannot avoid is offense. They are the first in the defensive league, but the third-last in the offensive league, especially their three-point shooting percentage is as low as 31.8%, which is not only the bottom in the league, but also opens a cliff-like gap with the second-last Wizards (33.5%).

In the playoffs, this flaw was infinitely amplified - key offensive data such as scoring, assists, and three-point shooting percentage were all the last among 16 teams. The hard-solving ability of the two-star teams of the forwards was difficult due to the opponent's contraction of defense. Bain's arrival is like injecting clear spring into this "three-point desert": his career three-point shooting percentage and his 43.2% elite shooting percentage have made him one of the only three players in the league who have hit 800 three-pointers and maintained a shooting percentage of more than 40% in the past five years. Last season, Bain averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game with 48% shooting percentage, which is definitely the best supplement to Bankairo and Wagner. Even though the arm span is joked as a "Tyrannosaurus Rex", its strong physique-supported defense (1.1 steals per game) is perfectly in line with the Magic's philosophy of building a team that emphasizes the adjustment of physical defense. The core logic of

magic is to exchange the future for the present. The four-player group of Benkairo (23), Wagner Jr. (24), Sages (24) and Bain (27) has a high-synchronization in the long cycle. In the Eastern Conference turbulent times when the Celtics are facing disintegration, the Cavaliers are strong on the outside and the Bucks are in danger of Antetokounmpo leaving the team, they bet that the chemistry of the new core can quickly push the team into the championship window.

So what is the seemingly profitable grizzly thinking? On the surface, the wealth gained by the Grizzlies is dazzling: the 16th sign this year, 2026 (Suns/Wizards swap rights), 2028, 2030 first round without protection, and the first two picks protected by the first two picks in 2029. But the deeper motivation is the sober understanding of the upper limit of the "Morant + 3J Jackson + Bain" trio. Although Bain is strong, he is the easiest part of the three - Morant is the box office and tactical core, while Jackson is the defensive pillar.

sent away the Bain Grizzlies and received a huge draft pick asset, but also received two premium contracts from Pope (43.2 million in 2 years) and Cole Anthony (26.2 million in 2 years). The former has become a veteran, with a three-point shooting percentage plummeting to 26.1% in the playoffs, while the latter is a defensive weak ring that has been unstable for many years. If estimated based on the league market, at least 1.5 first rounds are required to handle these two contracts, and Bain's actual value is closer to 2.5 first rounds. The true ambition of the Grizzlies is hidden behind the draft pick. With all the first rounds in the next seven years and four new signs, they can reorganize the lineup around Morant and Jackson, and may also brew a bigger storm - the stockpiling of chips is enough to be superstars at the Stud Antetokounmpo or Booker level. What is particularly interesting is that Morant has long been dissatisfied with the team's role, and Jackson's super top salary is pending, and this deal may become the first wave of the Memphis reconstruction wave. The label of

"Winner" seems too early at this moment. If the Magic's gamble is successful, Bain's three-point firepower will become a sharp blade that tears the Eastern Iron Curtain, causing Orlando to transform from a dark horse into a real competitor; if it fails, the price of four first rounds will lock the team's future. The Grizzlies quietly weave a larger net - the accumulation of first-round picks is the starting point of reconstruction and the leverage of superstars. Bain's value dispute is essentially a fierce collision between the NBA's championship window and long-term layout in troubled times. When the magic "present" and the grizzly "future" are exchanged on the trading table, the real answer is only time. At this moment, the wind in the east was suddenly tightened by the flapping of the "Tyrannosaurus Rex".

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