The most constipated team in the league space! Bain is expensive but this is the adventure the Magic has to do

. Bain could be the solution to this problem, whether he is moving weakly on the side, holding the ball in the pick-and-roll, or setting up a back cover.

He should be able to open up the court space, speed up the pace of the game, and dismantle defenses that are willing to shrink the penalty area, empty non-shoters, and force Orlando's ball holders to play in the crowd. According to Sportradar, Ban Keiro was double-teamed by doubles last season when playing back singles, ranking 26.8%, ranking in the top 19% of the league.

His and Wagner's breakthroughs are often like escalators to a dead end, blocked by the defensive rotation and aggressive blockade - the opponent dares to let them pass the ball because the opponent knows they prefer to shoot their own. (Among players who averaged at least 10 games, Wagner and Benkairo both ranked very low last season with breakthrough passes.)

Even with Bain, this lineup still has a lot of question marks. Can Benkairo make decisions faster? Positive impact when out of the ball? Overall, making substantial progress towards MVP candidates? Can Wagner become the league average three-point shooter? Can Sages, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Wagner, and basically everyone else (Bain included) stay healthy? What kind of progress will Anthony Black and Tristan Da Silva show? Is there a way to add more shooting ability, especially at the No. 5? (Brook Lopez or Al Horford would be the perfect short-term solution, although both may be too expensive.)

Four unprotected first-round picks plus one draft pick exchange sounds expensive - it is true! When the New York Knicks paid five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges (and they didn't know they would trade for Carl Anthony Towns), I criticized them harshly. The two situations appear to be similar on the surface, but as always, the background is important.

For a team that is already very expensive to pay around two young All-Star forwards who are not yet at their peak, it is logical to introduce a top 50 player in the league who will be 27 later this month, improve everything around, have a moderate contract price that will last until 2029. (In addition, I personally think Bain is better than Bridges.)

Unless there is a serious accident, Orlando's first-round picks in 2028 and 2030 will not fall into the lottery zone, and the first-round picks they gave this year are the 16th pick. (The Magic still have the 25th pick from the Denver Nuggets.) It would be easier to get rid of their contract if Caldwell Pope and Anthony performed a little better. But in that case, the Magic may not even be so aggressive in seeking change.

Yes, even without this deal, the Magic had 50 wins in the 2025-26 season. They may have to pay less assets to get players like Anfini Simmons, with a slight improvement on the offensive end, but the losses on the defensive end will far outweigh the marginal effect. But how many games can that team win in the playoffs? Will the space become so much better? Can players like Simmons really relieve the pressure on Benkairo and Wagner to hold the ball in key games?

Bain is excellent enough to increase Orlando's upper limit without sacrificing any existing advantages. His ideal situation is to be selected as an All-Star and efficiently contribute 20+, 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game. Most likely, he became a strong offensive and defensive two-way player, helping to accelerate everyone else’s development while continuing to grow in a winning environment. He is a smart, selfless and steady professional player who is about to enter his peak.

In an Eastern Conference with a very open competitive landscape, one of the most cautious teams in the league made a big bet, and the bet was more about others already on this roster than about Bain himself. They are trapped in the luxury tax quagmire, almost exhausting tradable first-round picks, and by 2027, the contracts of three players may account for almost 80% of their cap space. (Ban Kairo hasn't signed his max contract extension yet, but if he's selected to the All-Squad this season, the contract value will be 30% of the salary cap, which is likely to push them over the second-large line.) But if you believe in this core roster, it's not like a risky move to fight for a home run. It's closer to what the Magic had to do. After a few years, it may even prove essential.