Desmond Bane Trade + 5 U.S. Open Thoughts
Desmond Bane and the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
Welcome back!
Somebody went after Memphis on ESPN yesterday. So before we do anything else, shoutout to the 901. The food. The music. The history. The culture. Is Memphis perfect? No. Could Memphis do better? Absolutely. But it’s filled with incredible people and was a great place to grow up.
Now, on to today’s newsletter.
We’re actually not done with Memphis, yet. I’ve got some thoughts on the Desmond Bane trade and this weekend’s U.S. Open. Let’s dive in.
Desmond Bane, the Orlando Magic.
On Sunday, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap.
That’s a mouth full and a lot for Bane regardless of which side of the transaction you sit on (or claim allegiance to).
“FOUR first rounders for Desmond Bane?!”
“What’s KD going to go for? Seven first rounders?”
“Remember when the Mavericks only got one first rounder for Luka?”
I saw some variation of these reactions a lot over the last few days. Some of them funny, some of them a completely necessary ricochet shot at Nico Harrison and some just out of touch.
What many fail to consider (at least on social media) about NBA trades is this concept that I’ll call subjective value. The discourse around a transaction like this always suggests that a player has the same value across the Association. That’s often not the case. Usually, the team trading a player like Bane thinks higher of that player than the team trying to trade for him — see the Suns trying to trade Kevin Durant here. But in this situation, the Magic see Bane as the key to unlocking the talent and potential already on the roster. For two main reasons:
Bane is on the short list of best shooters in the NBA. Off the catch, off the dribble, in transition. He can do it all. And the league watched him become a formidable playmaker in the minutes he played with Ja Morant off the floor the last couple seasons. The Magic were last in 3-point field goal percentage last season by almost two full percentage points. The gap between the Magic at 30 and the Wizards at 29 was the same as the gap between the Wizards at 29 and the Rockets at 21. Bane further unlocks players like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Everyone in the East with a talented, young core is in “why not us?” mode. The deterioration of the Bucks coupled with the Celtics’ at least one-year hiatus leaves those like the Magic and the Pistons feeling like the East is wide open (especially when watching the Pacers in the Finals). So this is as close to an all-in move as you can get, and I think many in the Orlando organization would describe it as such. “Why not us, why not now?”
On the flip side, the steady decline of Morant has put a ceiling on the Grizzlies. One that is not worth the expense of paying Bane, Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. at the same time.
I’m willing to bet the Grizzlies weren’t trying to trade Bane. They weren’t shopping him around. But Memphis has a ceiling and Memphis didn’t have a ton of flexibility. Not a great combination. So when a team comes along that’s willing to overpay for Bane in a vacuum, it’s not a bad idea to seriously consider it.
This trade does two things for the Grizzlies:
In returns some flexibility to their future. Obviously the draft capital. But it also slots more mid-range salaries into their cap sheet. KCP makes $22 million and Anthony makes just over $13 million. The Grizzlies had a lot of expensive contracts and a lot of cheap ones, but having those middle-of-the-round salaries are great for matching salaries in a hypothetical trade down the road.
It positions them to go either direction. KCP and Anthony are proven rotation players in the NBA. They will impact the Grizzlies if and when they step on the court wearing the bear. Memphis is still in a reasonable position to win games next year, especially if Morant has a resurgent season. The picks and tradeable pieces give them ammunition for another trade in the middle of the season if they’re close to making a run. Or, it gives them a head start on a rebuild if things continue to go in a steady downward direction.
The fan in me is sad. Bane was a great Grizzly and one who made a positive impact on the Memphis community. My basketball brain tells me it’s a totally logical move to make, especially when the Magic come calling equipped with four first rounders and two real NBA players.
5 Thoughts from the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont
This year’s U.S. Open was weird. One of those events that had a lot going on while simultaneously feeling like we won’t remember much of it five years from now. Here are five thoughts from the week:
Winners like this are important for golf. J.J. Spaun has as many PGA Tour wins as he does major championships. His professional resume doesn’t scream U.S. Open champion, but that’s what he is. Winners like this keep us on our toes and remind us of the “anybody can get to the top” nature of professional golf. As golf moves further and further from that and closer to “how can we cater to our stars”, a triumphant tale of making no money on a Canada golf tour to finishing birdie-birdie to win at Oakmont is one that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Birdie-birdie finish is just insane stuff. For a long time we were headed to a conclusion that was defined more by a rain delay and players imploding than someone going out and grabbing the tournament by the horns. Then Spaun hit his drive to 17 feet on the reachable par 4, 17th and drained a 64-foot putt on the 18th to win the tournament in convincing fashion. Now he’s on a list alone with Ben Hogan as the only two players to finish birdie-birdie to win a U.S. Open at Oakmont. Sick stuff.
Casual water. I feel for Sam Burns, who was told he wouldn’t get relief from this lie on the 68th hole of the U.S. Open. Tied for the lead. He would go on to play those final four holes in 3-over par and not even sniff the trophy. He probably should’ve gotten relief, but he didn’t. But there’s also part of me that thinks you need to be able to withstand a bad break like that better if you want to win a major championship. It clearly impacted him for a while, longer than it should have.
Hacking out of the rough. Long rough isn’t my favorite thing in the world. To be fair, Oakmont’s test is much more than just long rough next to skinny fairways. The greens go crazy and it’s a test of endurance like most U.S. Opens. But a week like this reminds me why Pinehurst is such an exceptional U.S. Open host. Unbelievably hard while capturing my imagination for all 72 holes. Oakmont’s five and a half inch rough is certainly penalizing, but it doesn’t exactly get me going. We can get deep into the weeds about golf course architecture (although I don’t really care to), but the best courses for viewing are the ones that challenge the best in the world while capturing the imagination of those watching. I’m not sure Oakmont does that.
Another weird Rory week. Rory’s five minutes of voluntary media time on Saturday evening were so weird. Standoff-ish, short answers from a guy who’s made a name for his willingness to really contemplate the questions he is asked. Whether it’s his lack of a north star after winning the Masters, his frustration with whoever leaked his driver situation at the PGA Championship or something else entirely, I’m befuddled by the way he’s handled it and why he’s chosen the media as the group on which he’s going to take out his frustrations.
That’s all I’ve got! Thanks so much for taking the time. I’ll see you next week.