In the NFL, a promising young quarterback on a rookie-scale contract is a team-building cheat code. Take Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, for instance.
The NFL's reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year signed a four-year, $37.7 million contract ahead of his rookie campaign. His average annual salary ($9.4 million) currently ranks 27th among quarterbacks. Having him locked into that dirt-cheap contract over the next three years will allow the Commanders to splurge on higher-paid veterans at other positions, which they did by acquiring cornerback Marshon Lattimore, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and left tackle Laremy Tunsil via trade within the past year.
If the Orlando Magic's out-of-nowhere trade for Desmond Bane is any indication, NBA teams might begin gravitating in that direction as well.
On Sunday, the Magic sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies for Bane, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. In doing so, they've basically locked themselves into being an apron team once Paolo Banchero is no longer on his rookie-scale deal in 2026-27.
That's a bold swing to take for a young core that has yet to advance past the first round of the playoffs. But with Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard both on the mend from Achilles injuries that they suffered in the playoffs, the Eastern Conference looks far more wide-open than it did a few months ago. Rather than continue to patiently build, the Magic decided to go all-in and deal with the financial consequences later.
If their gambit pays off, more teams may begin to follow in their footsteps, particularly those with young stars on rookie-scale deals.
Title windows shrinking and the Magic are planning ahead
In the past, teams with young stars on their roster had to be careful about accelerating their rebuilds too quickly. If they pursued too many short-term, win-now moves that didn't pay off in a championship, it might expedite the departure of those stars. The late-2000s Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James and the Anthony Davis-led New Orleans Pelicans both suffered that same fate.
However, the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement could cause a shift in the team-building meta for teams in that position.
The new CBA features draconian penalties for the most expensive rosters in the league. In particular, teams that go above the second apron have their hands tied in both free agency and on the trade market. Those that stay above it twice in a four-year span have their first-round pick seven years into the future automatically moved to the bottom of the round.
The Magic might have just vaulted themselves into that territory with the Bane trade.
Franz Wagner is about to begin the five-year, $224.2 million max extension that he signed this past offseason. Jalen Suggs is also starting his five-year, $150 million extension, although the Magic wisely designed it to descend year-over-year to give themselves more financial flexibility as the rest of the roster gets more expensive. And Paolo Banchero is extension-eligible this offseason and figures to receive a full max extension offer at the first possible moment.
If this trade propels the Magic into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, it might also increase the likelihood of Banchero receiving an All-NBA nod next season (provided he plays the required 65 games). That could bump his extension up from 25 percent of the 2026-27 salary cap to 30 percent, which would push the Magic well above the second apron that season. Even if Banchero doesn't meet the supermax criteria and only starts his extension at 25 percent of the 2026-27 cap, they'll be bumping right up against it.
Orlando Magic 2026-27 payroll projection if Paolo Banchero gets a maximum extension and hits the criteria for the higher salary worth 30 percent of the salary cap.
They could lower their penalty and get below the second apron by moving off some mid-level salaried players. https://t.co/ycM62YePiN pic.twitter.com/EiVPJgVJeN
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) June 15, 2025
For the Magic, who haven't even paid the luxury tax since the 2010-11 campaign, that's a drastic jump in outlay. It will also limit their ability to tinker around the margins after this coming season, which suggests more moves might be forthcoming before those restrictions fully kick in.
The Magic are going into this Banchero-Wagner-Bane-Suggs era knowing that it's financially unsustainable over the long haul. They'll be fine in 2025-26 before Banchero's extension begins, and they might even be able to stomach a year or two after that. But unless they win multiple championships over that span, any talk of a Magic dynasty with that quartet should stay parked in the garage.
In all likelihood, the Magic will have to trade one of Banchero, Wagner, Bane or Suggs by 2028-29 at the latest. By then, Bane will be heading into the final year of his contract (unless he signs an extension), while Wagner and Suggs will have two years left on their deals. Luckily, all four are young enough that they should maintain their trade value over the next few years, barring catastrophic injuries.
That may be exactly what the Magic are banking on. They can have a 2-3 year run with this group before breaking it up and reallocating their resources. Having Wagner on a 25 percent max deal and both Bane and Suggs on below-max contracts makes this Magic core more financially viable than the Phoenix Suns' Big Three, all three of whom are on 35 percent max deals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are living proof of how this strategy can pay off in spades. They splurged on Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso this past offseason while Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were still on rookie-scale contracts. Both figure to sign max or near-max extensions this coming summer, which will send the Thunder's payroll skyrocketing in 2026-27. In the meantime, they're only two wins away from this year's championship.
The Magic are hoping to take advantage of the final year of Banchero's rookie-scale deal, as he figures to earn around three times as much starting in 2026-27, if not more. In that sense, they're much like the Daniels-led Commanders, although they have much less time left with their star player getting drastically underpaid. But if this strategy pays off, other teams around the league figure to emulate it. It could further embolden the Victor Wembanyama-led San Antonio Spurs, who already acquired star point guard De'Aaron Fox at the February trade deadline, to take another home run swing before Wembanyama breaks the bank in 2027-28.
Granted, there's a chance that this trade blows up in the Magic's face. If so, it might scare away teams from taking these sorts of all-in swings, particularly if it winds up costing them Wagner or Banchero down the line. But until then, other teams might have to take similar gambles to keep up with the Joneses in Orlando.