Desmond Bane Could Have Been a Celtic Before Trade

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

As his profile skyrockets within the NBA Play-in vs. the Charlotte Hornetsthis isn’t simply a recap of the Magic’s June 2025 swing for one of many league’s higher two-way guards. It can be a official 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 massive method. 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 is just not the type of transfer a workforce makes for a marginal improve. It is the type of transfer that indicators 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 truly went: Memphis obtained Bane and Mario Hezonja, Portland obtained Enes Kanter, and Boston obtained two future second-round picks from the Trail Blazers.

So, sure, Bane fairly actually may have been a Celtic. That is just not speculative framing. It is the plain draft-night report. Many groups, past the Celtics didn’t worth Bane on the degree of his present manufacturing, and plenty of are absolutely 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 taking pictures. The Magic believed Bane match their model, temperament and timeline.

That perception has been proven up in how the group talks about him, too. After a February 2026 win over the ClippersMagic 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 large worth for Bane as a result of they believed he may sharpen the offense round Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner whereas conserving the workforce’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 previous draft-night choice really feel extra related than it did when Bane was merely growing 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 ground spacer and an Orlando participant considered as essential 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 put up. But this one has a clear motive to be revisited. Boston as soon as held the choose that turned Bane. Orlando now holds the participant. And as a result of the Magic handled him like a difference-maker, the Celtics’ previous what-if is not simply in regards to the previous.

Eric Anderson is an award-winning sports activities journalist overlaying 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 shops together with The New York Times, Associated Press, USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson