Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Rumors

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: "But we’re talking about superstars. We’re talking about guys who get teams involved, elevate players, and when my team needs a win — they go get it. I can’t do that with Donovan Mitchell. And I’m 50/50 on Haliburton. He might average 25 and 8, but he’s not consistent. He’s clutch now, sure, but not consistent enough throughout the game. I need someone who shoots consistently, makes plays all game long. He’s getting there — but he’s not quite there yet."

YouTube

“You got so many kids, man. You might lose count. He going for one more!” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: “You should see me when all of them are sitting in one spot and I’m trying to talk to just one of them. I end up calling them every other name except the one I meant. It’s crazy. I’ll be like, ‘Kendrick... Kenzo...’—but I’m trying to talk to KJ. Tristan Da Silva: And they all start with a K too. Every one of them. My daughter’s name starts with a K. All of them: Kenzo, KJavius Jr., Kendrick, Kindle, Knowledge.

YouTube

Former Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said in the latest episode of his Dawg Talk Podcast (YouTube link) that he got a heads-up he would be traded to the Grizzlies before the agreement was reported last Sunday, so he wasn’t caught off guard when the news broke on social media. And while it took him a little time to wrap his head around the idea of changing teams again just one year after signing with Orlando, the 32-year-old is enthusiastic about what he’ll be able to bring to his new club in Memphis. “The more I talked about it, the more I got excited,” Caldwell-Pope said, singling out Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey as new teammates he’s looking forward to playing with. “A lot of the guys over there I know and I’m going to enjoy playing with. Seeing them, playing against them and the style that they have, I think it fits right into my game.”

Hoops Rumors

The best thing about the Desmond Bane trade is that it came out of nowhere. There were no leaks. No rumors. I simply woke up and found out that Bane now played for the Orlando Magic. That’s the way it should be. I wanted to get a sense for how out of the blue this trade was so I reached out to Zach Rodriguez, the founder of Fanspo, which hosts one of the most popular NBA trade machines on the internet. In the last year alone, Fanspo users created more than 120,000 fake trades, according to Rodriguez. I asked Rodriguez, of those 120,000+ fake trades, how many of them featured Bane being sent to Orlando in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony. Rodriguez queried his database and wrote back, “After some digging, I was only able to find two trades that involved these three players and only those two teams.”

Substack

Jason Beede: #Magic forward Paolo Banchero shares farewell messages to Cole Anthony and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on Instagram: “My brother 🤞 it was an honor.” “Much love champ 🫡”

Twitter

Memphis Grizzlies PR: The @memgrizz today announced the team acquired Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four future first round draft picks and one future first round draft pick swap from the Orlando Magic for Desmond Bane. pic.x.com/hO8MAhoJPJ

Twitter

Jason Beede: New statement from #Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman on Orlando officially trading for Desmond Bane. Weltman also thanks Cole Anthony and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for their time with the organization: "We are very thrilled to welcome Desmond (Bane) to the Orlando Magic family," said Weltman. "Over his five years in the NBA, Desmond has distinguished himself as one of the elite guards in our league, and we look forward to his shooting, IQ and wide-ranging skill set in helping our team take a step forward. Desmond's character is held in high regard across the league and we believe he will fit seamlessly with our existing players both on and off the court." Added Weltman: "We want to thank Cole (Anthony) and Kenny (Caldwell-Pope) for their contributions to the Orlando Magic. They have been true professionals and we wish them well." pic.x.com/Nir8y4WeEt

Twitter

Josh Robbins: The Magic-Grizzlies trade call has been completed, the trade is now official, I'm told.

x.com

In what was shocking news on a Sunday morning, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic in what has many debating the direction of the team. While some have said the Grizzlies should blow it all up and rebuild, one who echoed the same sentiments was ESPN’s NBA insider Brian Windhorst. Trading Bane to Orlando, Memphis got back in return Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks, and one first-round pick swap. When Windhorst gave his initial reactions to the news, he would say on “SportsCenter” that the deal is a “rebuild trade.”

Clutch Points

“What does this mean for the Grizzlies? This is now what is being asked in the league, because this is a rebuild trade,” Windhorst said. “While Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has proven to be a key piece of a championship contender twice in his career, last season did not look like that, and he has gotten older and has a big contract.” “So this is a trade where the Grizzlies are pivoting a little bit, and it’s not an insane thing,” Windhorst continued. “Because if you look at the Western Conference, and you look at how tough it is to compete, and you look at what Memphis thinks about their hand, it may be the time to do a little bit of a pivot. There’s not almost anybody in the Western Conference who is really rebuilding right now; everyone’s kind of got the gas put down.”

Clutch Points

Josh Robbins: These are the picks going from Orlando to Memphis in the Desmond Bane for Cole Anthony + Kentavious Caldwell-Pope deal, per league source: + 16th overall pick this year + a first-round draft pick in 2026 (which includes swap rights from either Phoenix or Washington) + a first-round draft pick in 2028 + the swap rights to a first round draft pick in 2029 (top-two protected) and + a first-round draft pick in 2030.

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Shams Charania: BREAKING: The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap, sources tell ESPN.

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Shams Charania: Orlando is sending to Memphis the No. 16 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Phoenix's first-round pick in 2026, Magic 2028 unprotected first-rounder and Orlando's 2030 unprotected first, sources said. Pick swap is lightly protected in 2029.

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Shams Charania: Massive swing for Orlando to compete in the Eastern Conference, and for the Grizzlies, an opportunity to add a championship defensive wing, backcourt depth and a major haul of draft picks to utilize.

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