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I've spent the last several years believing that if you built a roster around a dominant frontcourt player such as Shaq, Olajuwon, David Robinson, etc...that roster would dominate the league, and go on a 90's Bulls type run. I still believe that. I was hoping when I saw Okafor coming up in high school, he would develop into that kind of player. Obviously even in his rookie season, you can tell that he isn't. You could even tell that at Duke.

So while I would love to see that style of roster dominate the league, the reality is...there isn't a guy who can do that in the league right now, and one isn't coming on the horizon.

I've argued for months that Aaron Gordon is a traditional small forward...and he is. But we're not in the traditional NBA anymore. There is a small ball revolution. Golden St is 20-0, and the defending world champions. Their most effective lineup is when the 6'7 Draymond Green is at center. He actually rates per possession as one of the league's best rim protectors. He plays the 3, 4, and 5. He has a passable jumper, and can play inside on offense.


It's my opinion that Orlando should begin shifting towards developing Aaron Gordon to be a very similar player. Probably won't ever be the passer Green is, on the other hand...he's taller and more athletic than Green. If Orlando really wants to embrace the small ball revolution, then Gordon needs to begin seeing more time at center when he's on the floor, particularly against teams without a good offensive big...which is most teams in today's game.

Interesting theory. Draymond has a really good centre of gravity which means he doesnt get bullied as much in the paint. Gordon doesnt have that as much but he has much better athleticism which might make up for some of that. It's an interesting concept.

Greenraida wrote:Interesting theory. Draymond has a really good centre of gravity which means he doesnt get bullied as much in the paint. Gordon doesnt have that as much but he has much better athleticism which might make up for some of that. It's an interesting concept.

Can you imagine giving Gordon the ball on the perimeter offensively in this situation? Do most teams have the necessary roster construction to counter such a lineup? With Orlando playing such smart basketball right now, this is something to think about. Such an athletic lineup coupled with smart decision making could cause havoc at the offensive end. And then because the majority of teams don't have great interior scorers anymore, you're right really losing anything on defense. In fact, I believe Gordon can be an elite small ball rim protector.

A 6'9 freak athlete might be just the kind of change of pace we need at center during stretches of a game to throw a team off balance.

What to do with Gordon? Let him continue to develop for the next few years. Duh!

Most players don't come NBA ready into the league. It takes years before they develop. Even star players.

Aaron Gordon will be fine.

1. I don't think Gordon is a traditional SF and I don't think he's much of even a hybrid PF/SF. His ball handling and even his improved 3 pt shooting aren't enough to be a traditional SF. Also, I don't think that the Magic have ever thought that Gordon is a traditional SF so I don't think they're going to start "shifting" him into a different role. I'd offer Nicholson's increased minutes and Gordon's decreased minutes in the last two games as evidence that Gordon is more PF than SF.

2. I can agree with you that Gordon could look to Green as a player to emulate. The kind of offensive and defensive versatility that Green has will be necessary for Gordon to earn more playing time.

With the strong 2nd unit being anchored by VO & AN, I'd like to see AG get the start and get Frye's minutes. Every time AG is on the court, he does SOMETHING that no one else on the team can do.
If he struggles, then go back to Frye starting.

BadMofoPimp wrote:What to do with Gordon? Let him continue to develop for the next few years. Duh!

Most players don't come NBA ready into the league. It takes years before they develop. Even star players.

Aaron Gordon will be fine.

A prime example of why you must read posts in a thread, instead of just the headline. We all know Gordon will be fine, no one stated anything to the contrary. The question is, what role will his skill set best fill?

AshBlackstone wrote:

BadMofoPimp wrote:What to do with Gordon? Let him continue to develop for the next few years. Duh!

Most players don't come NBA ready into the league. It takes years before they develop. Even star players.

Aaron Gordon will be fine.

A prime example of why you must read posts in a thread, instead of just the headline. We all know Gordon will be fine, no one stated anything to the contrary. The question is, what role will his skill set best fill?

Dominate Defensive and rebounding Power Forward aka Dennis Rodman Style 2-3 years down the road!

JBSouthpaw wrote:With the strong 2nd unit being anchored by VO & AN, I'd like to see AG get the start and get Frye's minutes. Every time AG is on the court, he does SOMETHING that no one else on the team can do.
If he struggles, then go back to Frye starting.

Actually, I think Nicholson should start. He does everything Frye does, and things Frye doesn't do.

Just what we needed, another AG thread...

AshBlackstone wrote:

JBSouthpaw wrote:With the strong 2nd unit being anchored by VO & AN, I'd like to see AG get the start and get Frye's minutes. Every time AG is on the court, he does SOMETHING that no one else on the team can do.
If he struggles, then go back to Frye starting.

Actually, I think Nicholson should start. He does everything Frye does, and things Frye doesn't do.

I get that, but I really like the firepower coming off the bench. AG's offense is more likely to match what Frye has been giving to the starting line-up.

Orlwillbeback wrote:Just what we needed, another AG thread...

If that's your feelings, then

1. you could have skipped right over the thread

2. you definitely didn't need to post in it.

I skip over threads all the time, big f'ing deal. (I just look and see if they were started by Destin)

JBSouthpaw wrote:With the strong 2nd unit being anchored by VO & AN, I'd like to see AG get the start and get Frye's minutes. Every time AG is on the court, he does SOMETHING that no one else on the team can do.
If he struggles, then go back to Frye starting.

There is absolutely no reason to try and force feed AG into the starting lineup, especially if we're winning. Why interrupt the momentum we have just to see if AG works in the SL? Outside of a season ending injury or a complete collapse from AN or Frye I think we just need to come to terms that he isn't going to start yet.

Hobo Prediction: we will keep AG for a couple of years then trade him, a la Moe harkless style, or he will walk in free agency.

I'm happy that Skiles recognizes that Gordon is our best wing defender. As soon as Hayward started off hot yesterday, Gordon was called in off the bench and right away started defending him. Ever since that CLE game, where AG had the clamps on Lebron, Skiles has called his number whenever we needed to slow down a hot hand.

Aaron and Draymond are two different types of players. Aaron is lean and bouncy. Draymond is a thicker banger type with long arms. Gordon is 6'9, 220 with a 6'11 wingspan. Green is 6'7, 230 with a 7'1 wingspan. Green is among the best defenders in the league because of this. Gordon is better equip to defend 3s than he is 4s, much less 5s. His hops can help him block shots, but he doesn't have the body mass to hold his ground against traditional bigs.

You are the position that you can defend and Gordon is emerging as a dominant SF defender.

The frustration is at the offensive end where many of us feel like he can offer more, but right now, the only assignment for him seems to be flocking to the corner 3. His minutes are still on a tight leash. He's still timid on offense and is more adept to pass than be aggressive. So I think it's just going to take time for him to get there. It took Payton some time to be more aggressive offensively, and we've started to see growth this year... but he's had a buttload of playing time too. It might take an injury for Gordon to get that kind of playing time. Our logjam is real so it will probably take longer for Gordon to develop as a scorer. He comes in the game as a role player and that's how his game translates. I think it would be much different if he came into the game as a starter.

AshBlackstone wrote:

Greenraida wrote:Interesting theory. Draymond has a really good centre of gravity which means he doesnt get bullied as much in the paint. Gordon doesnt have that as much but he has much better athleticism which might make up for some of that. It's an interesting concept.

Can you imagine giving Gordon the ball on the perimeter offensively in this situation? Do most teams have the necessary roster construction to counter such a lineup? With Orlando playing such smart basketball right now, this is something to think about. Such an athletic lineup coupled with smart decision making could cause havoc at the offensive end. And then because the majority of teams don't have great interior scorers anymore, you're right really losing anything on defense. In fact, I believe Gordon can be an elite small ball rim protector.

A 6'9 freak athlete might be just the kind of change of pace we need at center during stretches of a game to throw a team off balance.

why would we want to take the ball out of our PG's hands to give to Gordon?

I like Gordon defending high scoring SFs, but I think he would be better at PF on offense considering the garbage man role we've given him. Can't do that when you stick him with Nicholson or Frye. Would like to see him play with Tobias more, so they can switch whenever.

Skin wrote:I'm happy that Skiles recognizes that Gordon is our best wing defender. As soon as Hayward started off hot yesterday, Gordon was called in off the bench and right away started defending him. Ever since that CLE game, where AG had the clamps on Lebron, Skiles has called his number whenever we needed to slow down a hot hand.

Aaron and Draymond are two different types of players. Aaron is lean and bouncy. Draymond is a thicker banger type with long arms. Gordon is 6'9, 220 with a 6'11 wingspan. Green is 6'7, 230 with a 7'1 wingspan. Green is among the best defenders in the league because of this. Gordon is better equip to defend 3s than he is 4s, much less 5s. His hops can help him block shots, but he doesn't have the body mass to hold his ground against traditional bigs.

You are the position that you can defend and Gordon is emerging as a dominant SF defender.

The frustration is at the offensive end where many of us feel like he can offer more, but right now, the only assignment for him seems to be flocking to the corner 3. His minutes are still on a tight leash. He's still timid on offense and is more adept to pass than be aggressive. So I think it's just going to take time for him to get there. It took Payton some time to be more aggressive offensively, and we've started to see growth this year... but he's had a buttload of playing time too. It might take an injury for Gordon to get that kind of playing time. Our logjam is real so it will probably take longer for Gordon to develop as a scorer. He comes in the game as a role player and that's how his game translates. I think it would be much different if he came into the game as a starter.

I can see some of that. In all honesty, Hennigan needs to decide whether he trusts his scouting or not, and move at least 1 wing player (Harris, AG, Mario, Fournier, Dipo) at the trade deadline for needs. Create more time available for the young players to get more minutes.

tiderulz wrote:

Skin wrote:I'm happy that Skiles recognizes that Gordon is our best wing defender. As soon as Hayward started off hot yesterday, Gordon was called in off the bench and right away started defending him. Ever since that CLE game, where AG had the clamps on Lebron, Skiles has called his number whenever we needed to slow down a hot hand.

Aaron and Draymond are two different types of players. Aaron is lean and bouncy. Draymond is a thicker banger type with long arms. Gordon is 6'9, 220 with a 6'11 wingspan. Green is 6'7, 230 with a 7'1 wingspan. Green is among the best defenders in the league because of this. Gordon is better equip to defend 3s than he is 4s, much less 5s. His hops can help him block shots, but he doesn't have the body mass to hold his ground against traditional bigs.

You are the position that you can defend and Gordon is emerging as a dominant SF defender.

The frustration is at the offensive end where many of us feel like he can offer more, but right now, the only assignment for him seems to be flocking to the corner 3. His minutes are still on a tight leash. He's still timid on offense and is more adept to pass than be aggressive. So I think it's just going to take time for him to get there. It took Payton some time to be more aggressive offensively, and we've started to see growth this year... but he's had a buttload of playing time too. It might take an injury for Gordon to get that kind of playing time. Our logjam is real so it will probably take longer for Gordon to develop as a scorer. He comes in the game as a role player and that's how his game translates. I think it would be much different if he came into the game as a starter.

I can see some of that. In all honesty, Hennigan needs to decide whether he trusts his scouting or not, and move at least 1 wing player (Harris, AG, Mario, Fournier, Dipo) at the trade deadline for needs. Create more time available for the young players to get more minutes.

I too feel there will have to be a decision to be made, but I also don't think it has to be at the trade deadline depending on who they like more. Evan, as an upcoming RFA is the only that would be moved pre-trade deadline. VO, AG, Mario could be moved in the summer, maybe attached to our 2016 pick to move up.

Frye's worthless.....I've been saying this, on and on, for two years. Look at his numbers.

All he is is a decoy, a 3-point catapault launcher.

I'd give all his minutes to Gordon immediately.