Do you think Aaron Gordon will emerge as a breakout star this year?

[Nemesis21]

Traded for markannen or portis to Chicago

What do you think we can get for a trade of gordon?

A hell of a lot better than Markannen/Portis.

[Patrick1978]

What do you think we can get for a trade of gordon?

A hell of a lot better than Markannen/Portis.

So give me a player name you have in mind

[Optimus_Steel]

I dont believe anymore that he has star ability. He lacks the skill set and natural fluidity.

[Ducklett]

YAY! We turned on AG now too. So, officially, we don't have a single basketball player on the Magic.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

[Skin]

He was medicore defender last year.
Other than that, he has no true basketball skills. He can't shoot, he is not much of a rebounder, medicore passer, gives you no rim protection , can't drive at rim or draw fouls and most of his offense comes from offensive rebounds, transition and garbage 50-50 balls.

His "breakout" after allstar break of last season looks much like Tobias Harris breakout year in 2012-13. We all know how that translated into winning basketball.... or lack of the same.

What you guys expect from him ? 20 ppg? He has no offensive skills to average 20 on night to night bases without 18-20 FGA to get there.

[Nemesis21]

What do you think we can get for a trade of gordon?

A hell of a lot better than Markannen/Portis.

So give me a player name you have in mind

Don't really have anyone in mind, haven't really thought about it. But we can for damn sure do better than Markannen/Portis for AG.

[Blue_and_Whte]

What does Gordon do well? In my view he doesnt have a single NBA skill he can hang his hat on and is below average at a lot of things.

If you think Gordon is a below average defensive player than I don't think you've watched much of him.

As a 3 I think hes a below average defender, not as a 4. I think trying to play him at SF was doing him a disservice on both ends of the floor. But as I noted, I thought this was on the general board when I posted, didnt mean to come into the magic forum and go at your boy.

It doesn't matter where you posted. Saying he's below average defender and that he doesn't poses any NBA skills is incorrect. He routinely effectively defended some of the best wing players in the league the last couple of seasons. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think he's a star either. I do however think he's a good player who still has room to grow.


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[Skin]

YAY! We turned on AG now too. So, officially, we don't have a single basketball player on the Magic.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I wish we could tally names.

I'm not turned on AG. This IS the year that he will breakout. People forget that he was hurt for almost his entire rookie year. Went through 3 coaches in 3 years. Played on a team of ball hogs.

At the 4, Gordon will excel offensively because he'll be playing off the ball. This will mitigate the development issues he had trying to operate as a wing. He won't have to beat his man off the dribble as much. His shots will come closer to the rim. His 3pt shots will be much more open. With a clearer role, I can easily see him becoming an 18-19 ppg player... even Dwight and all his offensive awkwardness was able to score 20 ppg because the game played close to the rim doesn't require as much offensive refinement. If Gordon ups his FTA alone, and everything else is the same, he'll still get there.

The bigger question to me is... Will the shot attempts and usage% raise? Will we continue to be the Vuc and Fournier Show?

[Rashoismydad]

It doesn't matter where you posted. Saying he's below average defender and that he doesn't poses any NBA skills is incorrect. He routinely effectively defended some of the best wing players in the league the last couple of seasons. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think he's a star either. I do however think he's a good player who still has room to grow.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

In my view hes below average defending the perimeter against legitimate NBA SFs and SGs. I know he isnt a 2, but wing defenders often switch and 3s/2s cross match. Against 4's I think hes solid overall, good against the more common perimeter type 4's but less effective against the bigger ones down low.

I just dont see a single skill which is elite, or even very above average at the NBA level. You simply cant play him on the wing in the modern NBA, his shooting is well below average and his defense is mediocre except against the bigger 3's IMO. He doesnt compensate for any of that with other skills, like rebounding or passing etc. Hes not a rim protector at all, theres literally PGs who are better rim protectors which I find disappointing due to his athleticism. I wont lie, I have been disappointed in him and at this point would hope he can round his game out a bit and just be a solid contributor.

[rcklsscognition]

We'll be extremely lucky if AG even reaches Tobias Harris level. I will say this feels like a troll, so apologies, but statistically it's true. I'd say they're basically a wash, Tobias better on O but AG better at D, neither enough of a difference maker to make one better than the other.

[SOUL]

"Extremely lucky"

Stop the hyperbole, please. At his height (and I hate measuring strictly off of PPG but for this statement I have to bring it out since that's what you're bringing up) Tobias averaged 17 ppg on 14 shots, Gordon averaged almost 13 last year on 11 shots. And then started averaging 16 when he was moved to his natural position. And he brings way better defense. Tobias was a similarly streaky three point player while here and did not have the defense that AG brings.

Some of you are acting like AG is Jeff Green, it's funny.

[Rainwater]

"Extremely lucky"

Stop the hyperbole, please. At his height (and I hate measuring strictly off of PPG but for this statement I have to bring it out since that's what you're bringing up) Tobias averaged 17 ppg on 14 shots, Gordon averaged almost 13 last year on 11 shots. And then started averaging 16 when he was moved to his natural position. And he brings way better defense. Tobias was a similarly streaky three point player while here and did not have the defense that AG brings.

Some of you are acting like AG is Jeff Green, it's funny.

Lol he might be.

[Bensational]

He was medicore defender last year.
Other than that, he has no true basketball skills. He can't shoot, he is not much of a rebounder, medicore passer, gives you no rim protection , can't drive at rim or draw fouls and most of his offense comes from offensive rebounds, transition and garbage 50-50 balls.

His "breakout" after allstar break of last season looks much like Tobias Harris breakout year in 2012-13. We all know how that translated into winning basketball.... or lack of the same.

What you guys expect from him ? 20 ppg? He has no offensive skills to average 20 on night to night bases without 18-20 FGA to get there.

Well with the style of play that they had post all star game.... I don't see why he cannot. Shoot.... booker did it while shooting 42%.... and everyone praises him. lol. He just needs that uptick in touches. To be honest with you.... with a pg like payton he can do it simply by being a notch above everyone else as a pf in the strength and athletic department, and making himself available. I even expect him to hit closer to 5 ft a game with increased assertiveness.

Now.... do i think he's going to be a 20 pt scorer nexxt season..... nah.... cuz i think our team is built so that everyone will be getting a bite every night. If we don't have a super scorer.... having a team that spreads everything around evenly is a great alternative. Needless to say.... he will have career highs in pretty much every category and also I expect a boost in self confidence and begin to take a leadership role on the team.

Booker (who i'm not big fan anyway) has more offensive talent than half of Magic roster togeter, Gordon included. It's so rare to see young kid at age of 20 having so much polish moves like hesitation move, crossovers, step back after a dribble or simply ability to catch i shoot despite being contested for 3 and list goes on ( look what he did to Spurs being guarded by Leonard , scored 39 against him and Green ). His running layup and floaters are better than most of veteran PGs have.

Booker averaged 22 ppg on 36% for 3, Gordon 12,7 ppg on 28% for 3. Shooting isn't about field goal percentage, it's about being treat to opponents, when people leave Gordon wide open as soon as he leaves 10 feet, other teams use their best defenders to contain and contest Bookers' shots. During post allstar period Booker averaged 26 ppg, Gordon 17. For whole season Booker averaged 10 ppg more ,yet still having same TS% and only 1,4% eFG lower . All that being one year younger, on team that didn't even try to hide tanking, having worst jumpshooting team in whole league.

Pretty much every GM and unbiased educated fan would pick Booker over Gordon going into the future. Gordon for what he showed right now is solid energy guy that will get you garbage points and play ok defense. That's literally it. He is poor rebounder for PF, poor rim protector, doesn't have much passing game and on offense simply can't shoot or attack from dribble. Most of the time, on set defense his offense is dribble with step back jumper that he misses on regular bases ( shooting 30% from 16< ,yet that didn't stop him from taking 44% of all shots from that range ).

His nba career went from hype about heing new Griffin to " that 4th guy picked after 3 stars in 2014 " in eyes of most non Magic fans around the world.
Also, going into their 4th season, as go to guys, him and Payton being faces of a team, there is still little to buzz about a team, matter of fact vegas odds set Magic right where they left off last year, being 9-11 place team at the end of a year. Like it's some sort of grand achivment to make playoffs in league where 16 out of 30 teams make it. Especially on freaking , always awful East. How much longer you want to rebuild around guys who are not worth rebuilding around ? 3 years are not enough ?

There's no denying that Booker is the more polished and capable scorer between the two. But it's really hard to compare them with such a large discrepancy in the ways they're used.

We all get bogged down in %'s, but just think about the difference in their 3's alone. Gordon averaged 1 3fgm per game last season, and Booker 1.9. Gordon took 3.3 attempts, Booker 5.3. So, the %'s favour Booker, but it took him 2 more attempts to average less than 1 more 3fgm more than Gordon - and Booker is supposed to be the capable perimeter guy between the two of them.

Then look at Gordon's TS% for post all star - 58%. Booker's, 53%. Of the top 50 high volume scorers, Booker has the 4th worst TS%, beating only Derrick Rose, Nicholas Batum and Jordan Clarkson.

And finally, when you look at games where Gordon actually gets the ball and opportunity to shoot, he's posts some pretty solid numbers. (These are my own calculations just ripped from his game log). In 19 games, Gordon took 14fgas or more, and his averages are: 21.4ppg, 16fgas, 52%fg, (2.1 3's on 37% 3fg), 71%ft, 6.4rpg, 2.5apg, 0.9spg, 0.5bpg. His TS% was 60%.

Now, with complete transparency this list obviously the games where Gordon got crazy red hot from 3, but it also features some games where he went 0-4, for example. What matters is that these are the games he was allowed to chase his own points, and he stepped up. If we didn't have Vuc, Fournier, Ibaka and Green taking priority and shots, and we just gave the team over to Gordon the way the Suns gave the team to Booker, this could be the kind of performances we could hope to see more of.

Again, I'm not saying Gordon is a comparable scorer to Booker, I'm just saying he hasn't been allowed to launch with reckless abandon the way Booker has, so his numbers naturally won't come close to comparing.

[SOUL]

Lol he might be.

I mean last year's version of Jeff Green.

[Patrick1978]

YAY! We turned on AG now too. So, officially, we don't have a single basketball player on the Magic.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I wish we could tally names.

I'm not turned on AG. This IS the year that he will breakout. People forget that he was hurt for almost his entire rookie year. Went through 3 coaches in 3 years. Played on a team of ball hogs.

At the 4, Gordon will excel offensively because he'll be playing off the ball. This will mitigate the development issues he had trying to operate as a wing. He won't have to beat his man off the dribble as much. His shots will come closer to the rim. His 3pt shots will be much more open. With a clearer role, I can easily see him becoming an 18-19 ppg player... even Dwight and all his offensive awkwardness was able to score 20 ppg because the game played close to the rim doesn't require as much offensive refinement. If Gordon ups his FTA alone, and everything else is the same, he'll still get there.

The bigger question to me is... Will the shot attempts and usage% raise? Will we continue to be the Vuc and Fournier Show?

Agreed

[Rainwater]

I just don't get it. If most people know he is not going to be a star, why must the magic pay him like he is one just to keep him. If he wants more than what he is worth, let him go, lol. He is a dime a dozen.

[Rainwater]

Lol he might be.

I mean last year's version of Jeff Green.

That's better, lol. But I just think there is a large number of magic fans who are tired of some of the fan base and the Organization dubbing guys as the next big thing when in reality they are not. Gordon is getting hit with most of that frustration. And add that he is up for a contract extension makes matter worse. Jeff Green with the Thunder is a good example; he didn't show much they let him go instead of signing him to a big contract.

[PennytoShaq]

We'll be extremely lucky if AG even reaches Tobias Harris level. I will say this feels like a troll, so apologies, but statistically it's true. I'd say they're basically a wash, Tobias better on O but AG better at D, neither enough of a difference maker to make one better than the other.

Man, tough to read this because it's so bad.

Unless of course, you are praising a deity for being extremely lucky. AG already is putting up similar numbers at the 4 spot.

Harris wishes he could play defense like AG and AG already has shown he can do about as much on offense. So I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are referring to his poor 3 point shooting.

[Def Swami]

Woof, Tobias and Aaron are eerily similar statistically. Even if you break it down by just last season, it's nearly the same.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.fcgi?request=1&sum=1&player_id1_hint=Aaron+Gordon&player_id1_select=Aaron+Gordon&player_id1=gordoaa01&y1=2017&player_id2_hint=Tobias+Harris&player_id2_select=Tobias+Harris&player_id2=harrito02&y2=2017

[SOUL]

Woof, Tobias and Aaron are eerily similar statistically. Even if you break it down by just last season, it's nearly the same.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.fcgi?request=1&sum=1&player_id1_hint=Aaron+Gordon&player_id1_select=Aaron+Gordon&player_id1=gordoaa01&y1=2017&player_id2_hint=Tobias+Harris&player_id2_select=Tobias+Harris&player_id2=harrito02&y2=2017

Which is why I don't agree with that statement at all, and that's with AG playing 2/3 of the season at SF.