Desmond Bane Could Have Been a Celtic Before Trade

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The Boston Celtics actually did draft Desmond Bane earlier than he ever grew to become a part of Orlando’s blockbuster commerce story.

 As his profile skyrockets within the NBA Play-in vs. the Charlotte Hornets, this isn’t simply a recap of the Magic’s June 2025 swing for one of many league’s higher two-way guards. It can also be a legit Celtics what-if, as a result of Boston chosen Bane with the No. 30 choose within the 2020 NBA Draft earlier than transferring his rights in a three-team deal.

Orlando then modified the context in a large manner. The Magic formally acquired Bane from Memphis in June 2025, sending out Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, 4 first-round picks and a choose swap. That isn’t the sort of transfer a staff makes for a marginal improve. It is the sort of transfer that alerts urgency within the Eastern Conference.

Boston drafted Bane, however the choose didn’t keep in Boston

The transaction path issues right here as a result of it’s the spine of the headline.

NBA.com’s official 2020 draft results present that the Celtics drafted Bane at No. 30. The league’s draft commerce tracker then exhibits the place he really went: Memphis acquired Bane and Mario Hezonja, Portland acquired Enes Kanter, and Boston acquired two future second-round picks from the Trail Blazers.

So, sure, Bane fairly actually might have been a Celtic. That isn’t speculative framing. It is the plain draft-night document. Many groups, past the Celtics didn’t worth Bane on the stage of his present manufacturing, and lots of are certainly questioning how he fell so low within the draft.

Desmond Bane commerce made it clear why Orlando appealed to him

Bane himself has already defined why Orlando made sense.

In Magic team coverage after the trade, Bane stated the match matched how he sees himself as a participant. “That’s my DNA,” Bane stated. “I’m a gritty guy. That’s how I’ve made it to this point. You look up and down the roster and we all have similar makeups.”

Orlando didn’t simply commerce for capturing. The Magic believed Bane match their fashion, temperament and timeline.

That perception has proven up in how the group talks about him, too. After a February 2026 win over the Clippers, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley stated, “You cannot say enough about Desmond Bane. He is just a flat-out winner.”

Why the Celtics angle issues now

The Magic paid a enormous worth for Bane as a result of they believed he might sharpen the offense round Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner whereas holding the staff’s edge intact. Reuters noted that Orlando despatched out 4 unprotected first-round picks and a swap, underlining simply how aggressive the franchise was in chasing him.

For Celtics followers, that makes the outdated draft-night choice really feel extra related than it did when Bane was merely creating in Memphis.

Back in 2020, he was the No. 30 choose Boston moved for future seconds. Now he’s a confirmed NBA scorer, a high-level flooring spacer and a participant Orlando seen as vital sufficient to justify one of many boldest trades of that offseason.

That doesn’t imply each draft-night miss must turn out to be a remorse submit. But this one has a clear purpose to be revisited. Boston as soon as held the choose that grew to become Bane. Orlando now holds the participant. And as a result of the Magic handled him like a difference-maker, the Celtics’ outdated what-if is not simply concerning the previous.

Erik Anderson is an award-winning sports activities journalist protecting the NBA, MLB and NFL for Heavy.com. He additionally focuses on the buying and selling card market. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized retailers together with The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson