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

The choice is either Yes or No. I'm sure there are a lot of folks who think the answer is Maybe, but I'm only interested in those with strong opinions either way.



This will be his 4th season. He's eligible for a contract extension after this season. This will be his second year under Vogel and he really started to come into his own at PF once the Ibaka trade went through averaging 16 and 6. He's been putting in a lot of work this offseason, but is he just an average starter or will he show the world he's a star this season?

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.

*edit - disregard this, I thought it was on the general board. Didnt mean to come to the magic board and pick a fight.

Imo he will have a very good season.he and isaac will creating havoc

No.

Instead, I think he'll continue developing into a Nick Anderson/Horace Grant/Dennis Scott-like starter that every good team needs.

A breakout star? I'd love to see it, but I'm not expecting it. He's been more like a young Mike Miller than a young Penny Hardaway.

Rashoismydad wrote: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.

SOUL wrote:

Rashoismydad wrote: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.

If star you mean like CJ McCollum proficient at the things he's good at then No. He will be a solid starter for the rest of his career though.

Star? no. i look for him to put up about 15/7 this year.

And to answer the question, "star" is a lofty title but I think he could be a really effective two way player.

Keep in mind, we are not a team that have been set up to let AG shine. There always have been 5-7 other players trying to "get theirs" while we have had all of these young players. It's not the same as these other teams that have one really talented star that they're force-feeding.

Nevertheless, AG's advanced numbers have him as a more impact player than guys like Booker, Wiggins, Randle, etc. All of the young players everybody else goes crazy about. I don't need pure numbers if he is going to be a more effective player out on the floor, and I just want him to be felt out there. I think this year with a year at his natural position it will be seen much more often.

He has the potential to be a solid scorer as well as a great defender. His shot will be key, but the guy did have the most 30 point games for us last year despite not being first option in most of our games. I'd take less of those for more 20 point games that are more consistent, and I think him using his speed/power at the PF position can enable him to do that.

Rashoismydad wrote:

SOUL wrote:

Rashoismydad wrote: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's fine, I'm just saying both the eye test and the advanced numbers have him as a really solid defender, especially for his age. I sort of agree, just flipped. I think on offense the SF role was a disservice because he just wasn't as naturally gifted moving at that position and a lot of the defenders could match his speed there + he wasn't comfortable on the perimeter.

I really like his defense at the 3 because he's agile enough to move laterally and can sort of bully the smaller threes. He can do that with fours as well, but he's notoriously had trouble with guys like Taj Gibson, Kris Humphries, etc, the sort of bulkier guys that can space the floor somewhat but also push him around inside.

SOUL wrote:And to answer the question, "star" is a lofty title but I think he could be a really effective two way player.

Keep in mind, we are not a team that have been set up to let AG shine. There always have been 5-7 other players trying to "get theirs" while we have had all of these young players. It's not the same as these other teams that have one really talented star that they're force-feeding.

Nevertheless, AG's advanced numbers have him as a more impact player than guys like Booker, Wiggins, Randle, etc. All of the young players everybody else goes crazy about. I don't need pure numbers if he is going to be a more effective player out on the floor, and I just want him to be felt out there. I think this year with a year at his natural position it will be seen much more often.

He has the potential to be a solid scorer as well as a great defender. His shot will be key, but the guy did have the most 30 point games for us last year despite not being first option in most of our games. I'd take less of those for more 20 point games that are more consistent, and I think him using his speed/power at the PF position can enable him to do that.

I'm interested in what you said. I totally agree, but for what reasons do you think we are not a team set up to let AG shine?

Good question for a sleepy offseason.

I've yet to answer, but I'm veering towards 'no'. Mostly because I've got a pretty strong opinion of what a 'star' is, and that's someone who can singlehandedly disrupt a defense and put points on the board.

The biggest thing holding AG back at this point is his reluctance handling the ball. He just doesn't have the confidence to try and create off the ball against everyone. So for me, he seems to be on path to be more of a JJ Redick off the ball finisher, except he finishes at the rim rather than on the perimeter. If his shot comes through, it will make him an even more potent finisher. If his handles come through, then he might be able to go on and become a star.

Beyond not living up to the mantle of 'star', I still think he'll be great though, and invaluable to the team on both sides of the court. I just hope Payton and him are allowed to continue playing the game that they showed at the end of last season, where both players stepped up to another level, and actually looked like they were enjoying themselves on the court.

Skin wrote:I'm interested in what you said. I totally agree, but for what reasons do you think we are not a team set up to let AG shine?

I should say, I think this year more than ever we are a team that can let him take that sort of role, just in the past we've always been the sort of team that is going to try and slow-burn things for our younger players (for better or worse, usually worse).

But what I mean by that is that general confidence towards AG would be higher as a fan-base if he had the leeway that other players have had. The general NBA fan is usually only going to look at pure numbers and base their projections on that. For instance, Jokic was a surprise to a lot of people but the hardcore NBA fans that saw his impact/advanced stats and knew what he could do with a bigger role + more usage. I'm not saying Gordon is Jokic or will have that trajectory, but people do rate him way below his actual skill level/impact by just basing things off of stats.

SOUL wrote:

Skin wrote:I'm interested in what you said. I totally agree, but for what reasons do you think we are not a team set up to let AG shine?

I should say, I think this year more than ever we are a team that can let him take that sort of role, just in the past we've always been the sort of team that is going to try and slow-burn things for our younger players (for better or worse, usually worse).

But what I mean by that is that general confidence towards AG would be higher as a fan-base if he had the leeway that other players have had. The general NBA fan is usually only going to look at pure numbers and base their projections on that. For instance, Jokic was a surprise to a lot of people but the hardcore NBA fans that saw his impact/advanced stats and knew what he could do with a bigger role + more usage. I'm not saying Gordon is Jokic or will have that trajectory, but people do rate him way below his actual skill level/impact by just basing things off of stats.

It basically comes down to the fact we haven't let Gordon just figure it out on the court, the way Wiggins/Booker/Oladipo/MCW/etc have been allowed to. It would've been nice if at some point we could've just handed the team over to him to live or die by what he does, and just be happy that he's on the path to figuring it out. Sure, he's gonna have nights where he goes 0-10, or has 10 turnovers, or whatever. Who cares? As long as by the end of the season he looks like he's got a better feel for the game, we've achieved something.

But we've always had other options who were more 'ready', and ironically we died by their hand as they tried to figure it out/just plain sucked. (Talking about the older vets like Green, Augustin, Gordon, Willie, etc).

A lot of people in the general version of this thread seem like they've never watched AG play before, I don't see him as a star but he's already far from a bad player like people are claiming over there and he's still only 21 years old and has yet to play under consistent coaching/in a big role/without being switched to the outside and told to shoot!

bargnanimvp wrote:A lot of people in the general version of this thread seem like they've never watched AG play before, I don't see him as a star but he's already far from a bad player like people are claiming over there and he's still only 21 years old and has yet to play under consistent coaching/in a big role/without being switched to the outside and told to shoot!

Nobody said he's a bad player, but he has no definitive skill set after 3 years. Poor shooter, poor scorer, below average rebounder, poor handles, poor passer, and depending on position he's an average to above average defender overall. His size with the lack of skill makes you question if he'll be a consistent starter at the 4 with his lack of strength to guard bigger 4's (unless he's surrounded by the right players).

To me, the Magic drafting Issac just shows they're moving on from AG and its more of a question if he either gets traded OR he'll be an integral role player that comes off the bench provides solid/energy minutes in the long term, because he is a pretty good team player to have around.

tiderulz wrote:Star? no. i look for him to put up about 15/7 this year.

This is a nearly best case scenario of my dreams. The Magic as constructed is not about production from the PF slot.


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Nah

He had all these videos last summer and appeared like he was going to break out then. He didn't. I thought he was last year. Don't think he will this year. I think he will improve upon last year as a player, but he is not a star talent. He may become a borderline all-star some day, but no star talent here in my opinion.

I don't think he'll be a star, but he'll definitely improve because, thankfully, everyone is over that fantasy of making him an SF. I remember me, HowardMass, and a couple of other posters were always against him at SF since he only had an advantage on offense as a PF.

I fully expect at least 16 and 7 this year from him for the full year.