Desmond Bane was a valuable player at the Memphis Grizzlies from the start, and in the new season he is preparing to become even more. The grizzlies shouldn’t have gotten the 23-year-old at all.
Every general manager in the NBA makes decisions that he would like to take back later, especially if he stays in office for a long time. This is inevitable in a sport, no matter how carefully and conscientiously you plan your steps. Even the best HR professionals are not immune to wrong decisions.
Danny Ainge stayed in office for a very long time for the conditions of this job – from 2003 until last summer he worked in the front office of the Celtics or headed it. He made good decisions, built the 2008 championship team, traded the 2017 # 1 pick (Markelle Fultz) for Jayson Tatum and another lottery pick.
But he too had his dropouts. You don’t have to go back long to find a glaring example – the 2020 draft. At that time, Ainge and his team made a decision that looked bad at the moment and hasn’t gotten any nicer since then. Why did Boston Desmond Bane let himself go by the rags?
Desmond Bane: Too old, too short …
First of all: The Celtics weren’t the only ones. If you look at the draft order from a certain range (Dallas to 18?), There are a number of teams that would be better off today with a decision in favor of bane. From today’s point of view, it is confusing how a player with obvious 3-and-D skills could fall to 30th place if exactly these skills are sought everywhere. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.
It’s the old story: at 22 after four years in college, Bane was relatively “old” for a rookie, his arms are unusually short, and compared to younger players, he was given less room for improvement. It wasn’t the first time a player fell for these reasons, nor will it be the last.
What the Celtics did was still remarkable – because Bane actually fell into their lap. Boston picked three times in the first round: Aaron Nesmith was the 14th pick, Payton Pritchard followed on 26, then Bane came on 30. The team needed shooting around the stars Tatum and Jaylen Brown, so the pick actually resulted in an “old one.” “and that means rookies make sense.
Just not for the Celtics. Boston gave away – you can’t put it another way – the 30th pick and thus Bane to Memphis, in return only two future second-round picks came back. And the Celtics got rid of Enes Kanter, who promptly landed in Portland. The Turk is now playing in Boston again. And Memphis can hardly believe its luck to this day.
NBA Draft 2020: Die Picks 18-30
| Position | Team | Pick |
| 18 | Dallas Mavericks | Josh Green |
| 19 | Detroit Pistons (via Brooklyn) | Saddiq Bey |
| 20 | Miami Heat | Precious Achiuwa |
| 21 | Philadelphia 76ers | Tyrese Maxey |
| 22 | Denver Nuggets | Zeke Nnaji |
| 23 | Minnesota Timberwolves (via New York) | Leandro Bolmaro |
| 24 | Denver Nuggets (via Milwaukee) | R.J. Hampton |
| 25 | New York Knicks (via OKC) | Immanuel Quickley |
| 26 | Boston Celtics | Payton Pritchard |
| 27 | Utah Jazz | Udoka Azubuike |
| 28 | Minnesota Timberwolves (via Lakers) | Jaden McDaniels |
| 29 | Toronto Raptors | Malachi Flynn |
| 30 | Memphis Grizzlies (via Boston) | Desmond Bane |
Desmond Bane in Memphis: a godsend
Bane has already taken fears that he will not be able to improve much more to the point of absurdity. As a rookie, the Swingman found his way around Memphis without any teething problems: In a team without much shooting, he was a good floor spacer right from the start, hitting 43 percent of his threesomes and 47 percent from the corner.
Bane took very little, but gave a lot: his usage rate of only 15.5 percent made clear the small role in the Grizzlies offense, but Bane filled it excellently and was also defensively his man. In his first season he already looked like a valuable role-player.
“We knew he was a high-IQ boy who loves to work,” enthused Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins The Athletic. “He cares, he has the work ethic, he has the physical attributes. We’re not in the least bit surprised [von seiner Entwicklung].”
Desmond Bane shines in a bigger role alongside Ja Morant
In the new season he has expanded his horizons significantly. While backcourt colleague Ja Morant (rightly) dominates all the headlines, Bane is often the second option of the offense at the start of the season and a similarly legitimate candidate for the Most Improved Player Award (if second- or third-year professionals are legitimate). He is no longer a pure catch-and-shoot player, and in some cases Bane now takes on completely different duties.
Bane studied players like Devin Booker or CJ McCollum in the summer and this can be partly seen: he initiates more himself with the ball in hand, the proportion of his self-created degrees has grown significantly. He has already hit more pull-up jumpers (excellent 27/53) than in the entire previous season (23/53).
His efficiency has decreased a little in his new role, but is still clearly above average – and it is to be expected that the three-man quota (currently 37.8 percent) will increase. Over the past three games he has scored a combined 12/22 from downtown, overcoming a short cold streak in between.
Desmond Bane: Good enough for a long career
Bane doesn’t consider himself finished – rightly. He almost never comes to the free-throw line now and is not yet in danger on the ring. “I want to be a better finisher, a better playmaker, so that I can play more on the ball and become a real three-level scorer,” said Bane The Athletic.
Those are big goals, and it remains to be seen whether the not-all-explosive athlete Bane will actually make it to that point. What is already certain, however: He is one of the better players of his year and one whose skill set, even if it doesn’t change much, will give him a long career in the league. This type of player can be needed by any team, without exception.
Under normal circumstances, such a player in position 30 is already a draft steal. In these special circumstances, he is even more than that to the Grizzlies.
Desmond Bane: His stats in Memphis
| Season | Games | Minutes | Points | eFG% | Usage-Rate |
| 20/21 | 68 | 22,3 | 9,2 | 58,6 | 15,5 |
| 21/22 | 18 | 29,1 | 15,8 | 56,9 | 20,8 |
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