Why cant Aaron Gordon play the 3?

[lakeshow22]

an argument could be made that all 3 of those guys' best NBA position is/was PF.

But all 3 of those guys can guard 3s just fine. Gordon should have no problem guarding 3s. NO one ever saw draymond green turning into a defensive stopper and one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and that's 1 of the reasons he slipped to the 2nd round because it was said that he couldn't guard the 3 or the 4.

i actually think his defense is overrated especially on the perimeter. he's overaggressive, relies too much on his recovery ability, has a naturally high center of gravity and a natural lean in his stance as well. i think his BEST defensive position is PF, then you factor in his lack of perimeter skills. he should be a PF. imo, a player's best position is more important than possibilities. trying to make him a SF sounds like a team just trying to find a spot for him instead of putting him in the best position to succeed.

Even if his defense is a little overrated he can still guard most 3s in the league, can he not? Yes his perimeter skills are lacking right now but so was Kawhi Leonard when he first came in the league along with all the guys I said in the OP all struggle with there perimeter skills today and were still starters

[ManualRam]

But all 3 of those guys can guard 3s just fine. Gordon should have no problem guarding 3s. NO one ever saw draymond green turning into a defensive stopper and one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and that's 1 of the reasons he slipped to the 2nd round because it was said that he couldn't guard the 3 or the 4.

i actually think his defense is overrated especially on the perimeter. he's overaggressive, relies too much on his recovery ability, has a naturally high center of gravity and a natural lean in his stance as well. i think his BEST defensive position is PF, then you factor in his lack of perimeter skills. he should be a PF. imo, a player's best position is more important than possibilities. trying to make him a SF sounds like a team just trying to find a spot for him instead of putting him in the best position to succeed.

Even if his defense is a little overrated he can still guard most 3s in the league, can he not? Yes his perimeter skills are lacking right now but so was Kawhi Leonard when he first came in the league along with all the guys I said in the OP all struggle with there perimeter skills today and were still starters

i don't know if gordon can defend most 3's in the league. i just think his BEST defensive position is PF.
kawhi leonard is an exception. his progression this quickly is nothing short of amazing.

[HeartBreakKid]

I feel like people get this idea that because Gordon was the best defender in college he'd be a great defender in NBA. Usually defense carries over, but you have to take into account Gordon's problem in the first place, he has no natural position. How great will his defense be when he's against fours who are longer as well as more skilled?

It seems like he can be a 3 guard, but his offense would be terrible. He can be a 4, but can his impact on the defensive end make up for his lack of offense at the 4 position (which is still underwhelming)?

Unless this guy becomes a major stopper, is it really worth investing in a player who has questionable portability and low value offensive skills?

[Baller2014]

Kawhi went to a small college program who didn't know much about player development, and didn't focus much on developing Kawhi (who wasn't even really thought of as an NBA player initially) who they played as a 4. After drafting him the Spurs spent 3 days showing Kawhi how to shoot properly, and told him to practise that during the lock-out (which happened after the 3 days). 5 months later the Spurs saw Kawhi again, and were stunned to see he could shoot. The Spurs helped, but the main reason Kawhi learnt to shoot is he worked at it.

Gordon was a coveted 1 and done prospect at a big name school program who made it plain he wanted to be a 3 from day 1, and got all the coaching and help he could desire to make it happen. It didn't happen. He is no closer to being a 3 skill wise than he was before he got to college basically. It bodes poorly for the idea he will just "improve at it" in the NBA.

[Darius Miles Davis]

What successful NBA 3 shot 42% from the FT line in college? I think the discussion begins and ends there. Aside from shooting, Gordon could play the 3. But he's really, REALLY bad a shooting.

[aaa]

What position you play is about who you defend, not what you do on offense.

[Baller2014]

What position you play is about who you defend, not what you do on offense.

Um, no. They're both important considerations.

[Frank Nova]

What position you play is about who you defend, not what you do on offense.

Um, no. They're both important considerations.

Nah, there's a much heavier emphasis on defense than offense. Both are important but if u can't defend then ur borderline useless to any good coach and his system.

[Baller2014]

If you have no offense you're useless too... at the small forward position anyway.

[Bodie Broadus]

At this stage, you can't fix a broken jump shot. That's going to hinder him his whole career. Look at MKG in Charlotte, that may be a worthwhile comparison at this point. Has all the defensive tools in the world but can't hit a 10 foot jumper with consistency. Personally I'd want nothing to do with him, but some GM is going to see something he can work with and try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

[Billy Shears]

He can, and he will. Can guard most 3 and 4's right away. The strongest most skilled 4's will give him problems in the post, and the quickest most skilled 3's will give him problems on the perimeter. That is not most of the 3's and 4's in the league. Where he plays the most will depend on what team he goes to and in game match-ups.

The posters saying he can't handle the ball should have watched some Arizona games last year. He really only has 1 weakness, aside from his age/inexperience, and that's his shot.

[framer109]

Sooo much ignorance. . .

Gordon played the 3 at Arizona until Ashley went down then had to switch to power forward. While he was playing the 3 he was shooting close to 45% from 3 point land. Once he moved to the 4, his role changed and the shots he took from 3 were basically when things went wrong and not really a part of the offense, so his percentage dropped to 35%. He is by no means a prolific 3 point shooter, but he ain't that bad either.

Gordon finishes at the rim at a 70% clip. That is amazing. It also accounts for his lack of a midrange game. If you are a high school kid who can get to the bucket and finish at will or shoot a passable 3, yeah, your mid range game isn't going to be there yet. Dude is 18, he's going to have to adjust. For those people who say he is slow, can't handle the rock, or can't pass, you have not seen him play for any amount of time and probably work in the Cavalier front office.

He is not a solid defender, he is an amazing defender. Arizona's defense relied on denying the ball to the scorer. That is tremendously difficult to do and the only time Arizona has attempted it is when they had Gordon featured on the squad. It also led to the number one Defense in the country. Conversely it also kept Gordon out of position for weakside help and padding his block numbers and limited his steals. When he played for the u-19 team, they ran a pressing Defense which is a 180 difference from what they ran at Arizona. He dominated there as well, coming in just behind Payton and Smart in total steals. He is rarely in foul trouble, which is perhaps one of the greatest things to point out about his defense.

Seriously, Gordon has his flaws, but if he was shooting free throws in a game like he does in practice, he would likely be the #1 pick. A lot of the stuf being flung around here is bunk.

[HeartBreakKid]

Sooo much ignorance. . .

Gordon played the 3 at Arizona until Ashley went down then had to switch to power forward. While he was playing the 3 he was shooting close to 45% from 3 point land. Once he moved to the 4, his role changed and the shots he took from 3 were basically when things went wrong and not really a part of the offense, so his percentage dropped to 35%. He is by no means a prolific 3 point shooter, but he ain't that bad either.

Gordon finishes at the rim at a 70% clip. That is amazing. It also accounts for his lack of a midrange game. If you are a high school kid who can get to the bucket and finish at will or shoot a passable 3, yeah, your mid range game isn't going to be there yet. Dude is 18, he's going to have to adjust. For those people who say he is slow, can't handle the rock, or can't pass, you have not seen him play for any amount of time and probably work in the Cavalier front office.

He is not a solid defender, he is an amazing defender. Arizona's defense relied on denying the ball to the scorer. That is tremendously difficult to do and the only time Arizona has attempted it is when they had Gordon featured on the squad. It also led to the number one Defense in the country. Conversely it also kept Gordon out of position for weakside help and padding his block numbers and limited his steals. When he played for the u-19 team, they ran a pressing Defense which is a 180 difference from what they ran at Arizona. He dominated there as well, coming in just behind Payton and Smart in total steals. He is rarely in foul trouble, which is perhaps one of the greatest things to point out about his defense.

Seriously, Gordon has his flaws, but if he was shooting free throws in a game like he does in practice, he would likely be the #1 pick. A lot of the stuf being flung around here is bunk.

How many shot attempts per game though?

[ManualRam]

Arizona's defense relied on denying the ball to the scorer. That is tremendously difficult to do and the only time Arizona has attempted it is when they had Gordon featured on the squad. It also led to the number one Defense in the country. Conversely it also kept Gordon out of position for weakside help and padding his block numbers and limited his steals.

explain this one. what do you mean by "denying the ball to the scorer?" arizona plays a pack line defense, which is a soft man, using help defenders to gap driving lanes. ball denial is not a key component of that defense because defenders one man away anticipate helping on the handler and gapping the lanes.

[Baller2014]

Gordon can't shoot, he proved that. I have no idea when he shot 45% from 3, assumedly it's off a sample size of 7 shots or something.

[sya]

If you have a stretch 4, then Gordon might fit in at 3. Otherwise, he is not a good fit. Just imagine what happened when Josh Smith played SF for detroit.

[AgentZer0]

Gordon is a pretty unique player. Offensively, I don't think he can produce from the inside or the outside. He can't shoot very well, but he did improve his jumper and shot a respectable % late in the season. I still don't think he can be taken seriously on the perimeter right now. As a power forward, he might be better off just because he'll be around the basket more for offensive rebounds, tip-ins, and alley oops. That's about all he can do offensively. Defense is where he'll make his mark in the league and he should have no problem defending either of the forward spots.

I wrote a full, in-depth scouting report complete with stats, player comparisons, and more at http://freeagentzero.com/2014/06/18/nba ... on-gordon/

[I_Like_Dirt]

I don't like the comparisons I'm seeing here. Maybe for the present they aren't awful, but in terms of who I think Aaron Gordon will become, I think he is going to be a PF in the Rasheed Wallace style. Sheed measured less than an inch taller pre-draft, and Gordon is younger than Sheed was when he was drafted. Like Sheed, Gordon is going to be more about fundamentals and discipline. He will post solid but unspectacular rebound numbers. He won't wow you with blocks or steals. He will score enough, but won't be a dominant scorer or anything. But he is going to smother guys on defense and do everything else pretty decently. I'm not sure if he hits Sheed's level, and that may be nothing more than a role player in the end, but he's going to be a defensive PF with no major holes to his game, and there is some very intriguing potential there.

[Mlockhart]

Kawhi went to a small college program who didn't know much about player development, and didn't focus much on developing Kawhi (who wasn't even really thought of as an NBA player initially) who they played as a 4. After drafting him the Spurs spent 3 days showing Kawhi how to shoot properly, and told him to practise that during the lock-out (which happened after the 3 days). 5 months later the Spurs saw Kawhi again, and were stunned to see he could shoot. The Spurs helped, but the main reason Kawhi learnt to shoot is he worked at it.

Gordon was a coveted 1 and done prospect at a big name school program who made it plain he wanted to be a 3 from day 1, and got all the coaching and help he could desire to make it happen. It didn't happen. He is no closer to being a 3 skill wise than he was before he got to college basically. It bodes poorly for the idea he will just "improve at it" in the NBA.

Huh? Steve Fisher has developed plenty of pros in his days. ESPN just ranked his a top 50 coach. I am not sure how much stock I believe in they didn't develop him. He entered the draft after his sophomore year and was young for his class. This kid stays in the gym and developed his skills. There were a lot of HS players ranked ahead of him in his class. He always had that chip on his shoulder. A lot will depend on Gordon retooling his shot. It is so flawed that he needs to just start from scratch. With Gordon being a top flight recruit/ NBA prospect for the last few years, he may not have that work ethic that is needed to take his game to the next level. I just don't think he has the ball skills or feel to play the three.

[Baller2014]

Well they obviously didn't teach Kawhi to shoot, because it took 3 days for the Spurs coach to show him what he should be doing, and then he just went and worked on it. Kawhi is a quiet guy who does what he's told, and Fisher told him he would be a 4. Gordon insisted for a year he was a 3, and went to an elite program who gave him all the tools to make this happen. That he has made zero progress in this regard is very worrying for his prospects as a 3.