Magic fans are embracing Desmond Bane following Orlando’s blockbuster acquisition of the scoring guard early this offseason, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins writes. Bane is feeling the love in the city.
“I haven’t been to the grocery store yet, honestly,” Bane said. “But my car broke down on the side of the road today on the highway. There was a decent amount of people screaming my name outside the window. So I think that it’s safe to say that Orlando fans are excited.”
The excitement surrounding Bane reflects the expectations fans have for the team. Orlando with Bane in tow looks poised to be an Eastern Conference contender this season. Bane joins Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs as cornerstones of a rapidly improving roster.
As Robbins writes, the East is wide open next season. Cleveland and New York will almost certainly enter the year as favorites to win the conference, but major injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton have created some uncertainty at the top. The Magic are hoping to take advantage.
“I don’t think that there is any limit to put on what this team can do,” Bane said. “I mean, we are a new team, adding some new pieces and things like that. But we have a very good roster in place, a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. So it’s very exciting from that standpoint. I just want to come in and be the glue, the guy that brings his whole thing together, kind of rounds out some of the gaps that they may have had in their team.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Another team that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks, kept busy this week when they moved Kobe Bufkin to the Nets. As Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron writes (Substack subscriber link), the Hawks have done well to make moves that simultaneously keep them competitive now with an eye toward the future. The Bufkin deal gives Atlanta some added flexibility to extend Dyson Daniels and/or Kristaps Porzingis next year, Gozlan adds.
- Ted Leonsis, CEO of Monumental Sports which owns the Wizards and Capitals, said he wants to own MLB’s Nationals and the MLS’ D.C. United, per Greg Rosenstein of NBC (Twitter link). Leonsis said he has a good relationship with Nationals owner Mark Lerner, but that the Nationals aren’t yet ready to sell.
- Wizards sophomore guard Kyshawn George got an opportunity to suit up for Canada at the AmeriCup this summer, serving as a primary scorer for the team and averaging 13.5 points per game. According to Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network, George believes the experience will benefit him as he rejoins the Wizards. “I think just my confidence in general [was helped], how aggressive I was with the ball whether it was creating for myself or for my teammates. It’s just up to me to keep doing that, keep getting better at it and transfer it now to the Wizards organization,” George said.