
Grizzlies trade Desmond Bane to Magic for four first-round picks, plus more
In the latest instance of a non-superstar NBA player getting traded for a blockbuster haul, the Orlando Magic sent four first-round picks and more to the Memphis Grizzlies for Desmond Bane.
A 6-foot-5 guard who can drain three-pointers, create his own shot and defend on the perimeter, Bane checks several boxes for the Magic to rival the amount of assets it gave up. Also going to Memphis in the deal, announced Sunday, were guards Cole Anthony and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, plus the right to a pick swap in 2029 with top-two protections.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
5 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trio of Duke basketball prospects earn NBA draft superlatives
Trio of Duke basketball prospects earn NBA draft superlatives The 2025 NBA draft is nearly here, and several Duke Blue Devils will hear their name called as they make the jump to the professional ranks. Cooper Flagg isn't their only top prospect, as Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach are also elite prospects. ESPN's Jeremy Woo recently came up with 20 superlatives for the class, and all three Blue Devils were named. They were the only school with three players winning a superlative. Up first for Duke was Knueppel, whom he labelled as the "best spot-up shooter." Knueppel showed his impressive shooting ability throughout his freshman season, making 40.6% of his three-pointers on 5.3 attempts per game. That shooting is why he is expected to be a top 10 pick and immediately help an offense space the floor. Flagg, Woo's No. 1 overall prospect, was named the "best competitor." According to Woo, competitiveness is the "special quality" that allows Flagg to separate himself from the rest of the players in his class. Flagg repeatedly showed his fire throughout the season as he led Duke to the Final Four and led them in every major offensive category. Woo believes that Maluach has the "best intangibles" of the class and that his "character" has allowed him to go from a "project into a top prospect in a short period of time." Maluach is expected to be among the first centers taken in the draft after averaging 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks last season. At 7-foot-2, he is an excellent shot blocker and will immediately help a team's defense. Follow us @DukeWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Duke news, notes, and opinions.

Associated Press
9 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Ben Shelton gives the US 3 men in the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2006
LONDON (AP) — Ben Shelton rose two spots to No. 10 in the ATP rankings on Monday, joining No. 4 Taylor Fritz and No. 8 Tommy Paul to give the United States three men in the top 10 for the first time in nearly 20 years. In April 2006, Andy Roddick was No. 4, James Blake was No. 7, and Andre Agassi was No. 10. There are four American women in the WTA's top 10 this week again, and five in the top 13: No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Madison Keys, No. 9 Emma Navarro and No. 13 Amanda Anisimova. Aryna Sabalenka remains at No. 1, a spot she took over in October from Iga Swiatek, who dropped to No. 8 on Monday. Tatjana Maria, a 37-year-old German, rose 43 spots to No. 43 on Monday by winning the Queen's Club title as a qualifier. The 22-year-old Shelton, who won the 2022 NCAA singles title for the University of Florida, is only in his third full season on tour. He'd never traveled out of the U.S. until 2023. Shelton is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, making it that far at the U.S. Open in 2023 and the Australian Open this January. Fritz moved up three spots to match his career high after winning a grass-court title at Stuttgart, Germany, on Sunday. The top three men remained the same: No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Alexander Zverev, the runner-up to Fritz in Stuttgart. ___ AP tennis:


New York Times
23 minutes ago
- New York Times
Shohei Ohtani returns to the mound with something to prove: Can he still be a two-way superstar?
Cramped inside his luxury suite at Angels Stadium after inviting in a throng of reporters, Nez Balelo, the agent for Shohei Ohtani, spoke with the panicked confidence of a man praying everything he said about his then-pending-free-agent-client was true. This was Sept. 4, 2023 — twelve days after Ohtani threw his last big league pitch on Aug. 23, and nearly 21 months before he'd throw another. Advertisement He pleaded with the media, there to ask about the injured superstar. 'He's going to be fine,' Balelo said, without the question even being asked. 'Make sure you share that. Make sure you get that out.' All these months later, it's time to find out just how prophetic Balelo's words will be. The day has finally come, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced on Sunday that Ohtani will start, as a pitcher, on Monday at home against the division-rival Padres. In the nearly two years since that moment, Ohtani signed a $700 million contract, won a World Series and took home his third MVP. So, yes, as Balelo said, Ohtani is doing just fine. But for Ohtani, fine is measured on a different scale. What the agent was talking about then, and what has been an underlying uncomfortable question since, is what Ohtani's return as a pitcher will actually look like. Whether he can match the two-way prowess that shot him into global superstardom. If he can once again be a truly great starter. This was Ohtani's second shoulder surgery, and his 31st birthday looms in less than three weeks. The Dodgers know they have one of the game's all-time power hitters atop their lineup, who doubles as an international sensation that brings adoring fans and sponsors to enrich their franchise financially. But his future as a pitcher, and thus as a unicorn two-way superstar hangs in the balance right now. When healthy, Ohtani's proven to one of the game's best pitchers. His career 3.01 ERA, 142 ERA+, 1.082 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings are irrefutable evidence of that. He has a fastball that sits above 94 miles per hour, and can regularly eclipse 100 on the radar gun. His arsenal includes numerous options — a sweeper, cutter, splitter, sinker and curveball all available to him at any time. Pitching isn't just an addition to Ohtani's game, it's a co-equal element that defines his greatness. If Ohtani's injury proved anything, though, it's that even the most invincible of athletes are not immune to ailments or their debilitating consequences. Father Time is undefeated, but the Dodgers and Ohtani's right arm pray he can still be staved off for the next eight and a half seasons. When the Dodgers signed Ohtani, the $700 million commitment came with an implied expectation he'd contribute on both the mound and at the plate. That need has only escalated this season, as Los Angeles has a roster full of starting pitchers on the injured list. Tyler Glasnow hasn't pitched since April 28, and won't be eligible to return for a few weeks. Blake Snell, out since April 6, only recently started throwing bullpens. Roki Sasaki is out indefinitely. Same with Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone and a host of other pitchers. Advertisement Ohtani initially wasn't planning to pitch again until later this season — the belief had broadly been that his return would come after the All-Star break, as the Dodgers aired on the side of extreme caution with an eye toward the postseason. He came back quicker than expected, because that's what he wanted. With his return comes the weight of a beleaguered rotation on his shoulders. 'The live, simulated, or whatever, sort of ran its course,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Sunday. '… A week ago, we were talking about another live (batting practice). But the conversations, the confidence that he has, it's time to go.' It's easy to look at Ohtani with a mythical gaze, and let what makes him special capture your imagination. That's the type of aura he's always had while playing this game. The adjectives that describe him are universally positive, and for good reason. But for the last two years, he could not be described as a two-way player. And as of right now, he isn't a two-way player. He's been an elite designated hitter, with a speed element that sets him apart from even Hall of Fame-level performers like David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez. He remains special. But even through that lens, special is not once-in-a-lifetime, that mix of excellence in all facets of the game that nobody in a century has matched. For all that Ohtani has accomplished, he still has something left to prove. That he can earn back that desired title. It's an identity he's held before, and those that know him, understand just how important it is for him to keep it. The talking heads who say he should pick one or the other fundamentally don't understand Ohtani's makeup. Attaining that status once again will require more than just one or two good starts — it needs to be sustained over the long term. We'd be saying that about any player that's his age with his injury history. His unicorn status doesn't make him exempt from that requirement. Advertisement 'I'm just telling you right now that Shohei — There's not a question in his mind that he's going to come back and he's going to continue to do both,' Balelo said that day. That has proven true. He is doing both once again. The more important matter at hand, however, is how good and durable he can be over the many, many years he still has left to play.