The first offseason transaction reveals a new trend. What are the automatic machines of the Magic Grizzlies?

The first deal for the offseason in 2025 is here.

When Durant's departure soap opera was still experiencing the tide of various parties and there was no final result, the two small market teams, Magic and Grizzlies, took the lead in using a large scale operation, which triggered new debate in the public opinion field.

Through the transaction, the Grizzlies sent Desmond Bain and obtained Kentavios Cardville Pope, Cole Anthony from the Magic, 4 unprotected first-round picks, and 1 first-round pick swap right.

After this deal, the future prospects of the two teams suddenly became interesting.

Let's talk about the Magic Team first. Their purpose of exchange for Bain is relatively clear.

The Magic have entered the playoffs in the past two years, but they have all gone through a round of games and bid farewell to the season. Although the Magic's two leading stars, Kairo and Wagner Jr., one is 22 years old and the other is 23 years old, and one is still quite room for improvement, anyone with discerning eyes can see that in the two consecutive years of playoff failure, the Magic are still a team with insufficient talent. With the current team's staffing configuration, the first round of the playoffs is already their relatively objective performance limit.

In this context, Bain's joining is to enrich the Magic's combat power. Of course, compared to the strategy of teams such as the Rockets and the Heat staring at the old superstars, the Magic method seems a bit alternative.

Bain is a high-quality combat power. He is currently only 26 years old. Taking the game samples from the past three years as a reference, he averaged 21.1 points per game in three seasons and his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 39.4%. In addition, while scoring individually, Bain (in the past three years) averaged 5.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

In addition, since entering the league in 2020, Bain has made 800+ three-pointers with a shooting rate of 40%, which is one of the only three players in the league with such strong efficiency during the same period. The other two are Zach Lavine and Stephen Curry.

Coincidentally, what the Magic lacks most now is projected firepower. Last season, the Magic's defense was already at the top of the league. In the regular season, they averaged the least points per game in the league. However, on the offensive end, especially outside the three-point line, the Magic's performance failed. In the regular season, they are the team with the fewest three-point shooting numbers and the lowest three-point shooting percentage among the 30 teams in the league. Therefore, from a tactical perspective, Bain's joining is a very accurate improvement to the Magic's shortcomings. In terms of position, Bain plays the second position, and in theory there is no conflict with the two forward cores of Wagner Jr. and Ban Kairo.

Bain himself was obviously quite satisfied with joining Magic. As soon as the deal was announced, he posted a set of Little Sun + cool emoticons on his social media, expressing his good mood in the most straightforward way. As time goes back a few months ago, various signs also indicate that Bain is already dissatisfied with the Grizzlies' status quo. During a game, he was on the hot search for a conflict with his teammate Aldama.

To a certain extent, Bain's switch to Magic is an operation that Orlando is very willing and Bain's camp is also very satisfied. But there are also some oppositions to this deal.

First of all, in order to get Bain, the Magic paid a huge price for two generals + 4 unprotected first rounds + one first round pick to swap. The rationality of 7 to 1 needs to be questioned. Especially many people think of the Lakers getting Doncic's cosmic-level deal before the end of this year. At that time, the Purple and Gold Army only gave a first-round pick to the Mavericks.

Secondly, Bain's current big contract has 4 years left, with a total value of more than US$160 million, an average annual salary of 40 million and full guarantee. But from the actual situation, although Bain has the ability and can score high scores, at the age of 26, he seems to have touched his upper ceiling in advance, and he does not have much potential to continue to rise. In this year's playoffs, Bain averaged only 15.3 points per game, and his three-point shooting percentage dived to a bad level of 21.9%, which also questioned his ability to play in high-end games.

Of course, the success of the Pacers this year may have also given the Magic a certain touch, prompting them to activate the trading button. For the Magic, after getting Bain, their championship game has completely gone back. Starting next season, this young team no longer needs to hide their ambitions to compete for the championship.

Unlike the Magic's clear goals, the Grizzlies' prospects and directions are no longer so clear after changing to Bain.

Looking back at the past year, although the Grizzlies played in the playoffs, overall, their season experience was turbulent and frustrated. During the season, the sudden dismissal of young coach Taylor Jenkins caused a great shock in the locker room. The same young Thomas Isalo did not bring an immediate improvement in the team's morale after taking the lead. In the first round of the playoffs, the Grizzlies lost 51 points in G1, and were swept without any suspense after 4 games. In addition, as the core, Morant has once again suffered injury and reimbursed for the season.

Although Morant's butt injury this time was an accident, looking back at Morant's health resume, there are some "inevitability" hidden in the "accident" of every injury. Although Morant's wild style of playing has attracted a lot of fans, it also caused inevitable damage to his body. Morant is not very self-disciplined off the court, and he was severely punished by the league twice because of the gun show. In addition, in the past four seasons, he has missed a total of 151 games due to various situations, and his low attendance rate has seriously affected the Grizzlies' actual combat.

Maybe, theoretically speaking, next season, when Morant completely recovers from injury, the new lineup after the Grizzlies can still maintain a certain combat effectiveness. Pope and Cole Anthony's joining can still help the team in defense, outside shooting, etc.. However, judging from the Grizzlies' greedy request for the first round of picks in this deal, the management seems to have completely different new ideas for the future.

According to the labor and capital agreement, Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. will be eligible for early renewal during this offseason. At that time, the Grizzlies' attitude towards the two core members may also clearly expose the team's real future development path and direction...