The trading market opens! Magic Seven and One still get B+, and Grizzlies accumulate capital rating for the future A-

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The Magic made a desperate bet on getting Desmond Bain. Let's rate this Magic vs. Grizzlies deal.

The 2025 NBA Finals are in full swing, but the trading season is coming. The Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic have reached their first big deal this summer, a massive deal that aims to push the Magic to the top of the Eastern Conference.

According to ESPN insider Shams Charania, the Magic exchanged Desmond Bain from the Grizzlies with Kentavios Caldwell Pope, Cole Anthony, four first-round picks and one draft pick swap. The Grizzlies received the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Suns' first-round pick in 2026, and the Magic's unprotected first-round pick in 2028 and 2030, plus a 2029 youthful first-round pick swap.

Bain has never been selected for the NBA All-Star, but has been close to the All-Star level in the past four seasons. Bain is one of the very outstanding three-point shooters in the league, averaging 6.4 three-pointers in his career and shooting as high as 41%. At the same time, Bain is also a tenacious defender who can play tough defenders against major ball holders or smaller wingers. Bain will be 27 years old before the start of next season. The Magic are desperate to tackle their biggest needs, while the Grizzlies are taking a surprising step back. Let's rate this deal for both parties.

Magic's rating on the Desmond Bain trade

Compared with other teams in the league, the Magic this season is one of the worst shooting teams in NBA history. The Magic's three-point shooting percentage is only 31.8%, ranking last in the league. The lack of projection and space has resulted in the Magic's offensive efficiency of only 108.9, ranking 27th in the NBA. In the first round of the playoffs, the Magic's offensive performance was even worse, with an offensive efficiency of only 103.8.

Even though the offense was so bad, the Magic still scored 41 wins and 41 losses and won the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with their elite-level defense. The Magic's plan this offseason will be to resolve their shooting dilemma without damaging their league's second-place defense. Bain's deal, despite its high cost, perfectly solved the problem.

Bain perfectly matches the needs of the Magic. He is a top shooter, a reliable defender, and an excellent second-player with the ball in hand. The Magic needed an extra ball holder, a top-notch fixed-point shooter, and a player who could keep the system running on the defensive end, and they found all of these qualities in the player Bain. Last year, the Magic suffered a terrible wave of injuries, with their three best players, Paul Benkairo, Franz Wagner and Jaylen Sages, all missed a lot of games due to injuries. Wagner played at the NBA All-Squad when he led the team without Ban Kairo. Benkairo played some phenomenal games early in the season but struggled with scoring efficiency. Sages has had his best performance so far this season, averaging 16.2 points per game and his defense is as good as ever until he was reimbursed for knee surgery after 35 games.

Magic believe that Wagner and Benkairo can both become players of the NBA's best team level. Sargers is one of the best defensive backs in the league and he is starting to show signs of growth on the offensive end. Now Bain brings the shooting ability this team desperately needs, while also providing them with another guard who can handle the ball under full-game press and execute the second tactic.

Bain's fit with the Magic is perfect. But, my goodness, the Magic are paying too much. The Suns' first-round pick in 2026 is a valuable bargaining chip, and if this core lineup fails to succeed for any reason, it is terrible to send out unprotected first-round picks in 2028 and 2030. Bain is a very good player and is very suitable for the Magic, but he has never been an All-Star. It feels too high to pay such a huge price to get Bain. The Magic are also about to face the issue of salary space. Wagner and Bankairo will both receive maximum salary contracts after the 2025-26 season, with Suggs' contract of $30 million per year, while Bain's annual salary ranges between $36 million and $45 million before the contract expires in 2029. Facing this total salary in the future, the Magic's lineup depth will soon be affected, although they may have a very good set of substitutes next season.

With Jason Tatum's Achilles tendon rupture hitting the Celtics hard, and Damian Lillard's Achilles tendon to lower the Bucks' strength, the overall strength of the Eastern Conference will decline next season. The Magic made the deal because they saw a chance in the Eastern Conference next season and they thought they could win the Eastern Conference championship after joining Bain in the core squad. It was an extremely bold gamble, but the Magic’s lineup is now talented enough to challenge Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, and they’re likely to make a real breakthrough.

Magic rating: B+

Grizzlies' rating on the Desmond Bain trade

For most of the season, the Grizzlies have remained firmly at the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies suffered a crash after the All-Star Weekend, fired their head coach in a shocking way, and were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs and were brutally eliminated.

When the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins, it was obvious that they had reached the tipping point. Jenkins has now been officially replaced by former assistant coach Thomas Isalo. Despite their poor performance in the final stage, the Grizzlies are not very different from the top teams in the West. The 48-win record gives them the No. 8 seed, while the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets actually only have 52 wins. If the Thunder are used as a measure of championship competition, it's clear that the Grizzlies are far apart, which is why they want to trade one of the best players at the peak of their careers.

This is a huge gain for the Grizzlies and helps them rebuild. When it comes to draft, the Grizzlies are one of the smartest teams in the league, and they are about to get three picks with great potential plus a nice 16th overall pick this year. The Suns are about to trade Kevin Durant, and there may be a big drop next season, making their 2026 draft pick extremely tempting. Pope and Anthony should also be able to help, whether the Grizzlies are planning to re-enhance their value for re-hand deals or use them as substitutes for next season. Will the Grizzlies trade Ja Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr.? General Manager Zach Kleiman has vowed that Morant is not in the trading plan, but there have been many speculations to the contrary. I think the Grizzlies should still play pretty well with Pope and Anthony next season, and these draft picks make their future more interesting.

After all, the Grizzlies are unable to make breakthroughs with the previous core lineup. They did a great job of giving up the roster early instead of continuing to waste too much time.

Grizzlies Rating: A-