Mario or Gordon.

[CZ Eddie]

I need a third poll option.
Because I just don't think Gordon is a max player.
Close to it.
But I don't believe in giving the max to anyone who has yet to even be in an All Star game.

[drsd]

I need a third poll option.
Because I just don't think Gordon is a max player.
Close to it.
But I don't believe in giving the max to anyone who has yet to even be in an All Star game.

Gordon's max year would be something like a 26M start. He probably commands 22M a year from the Magic. So not max money, but still more than 20% of the team's cap space.


..

[p0peye]

It would be good to sign AG to 20M/year contract, but likely there will be at least one team willing to overpay in order to steal him from us. Sacramento will have both cap space and open spot in starting lineup, coupled with mistake-prone management/ownership.

[JF5]

Mario due to the fact I don't think this team should be giving anyone on the current roster near max or max money.

Remember when we were saying this about Dipo? Will we ever learn?

Gordon is not Olapdio...

If everybody developed the same way or everyone had the same skill-set everyone in the league would be a Superstar.

Again, I personally believe that Gordon will never be a star caliber player. Just a really good player...

[The Real Dalic]

Mario due to the fact I don't think this team should be giving anyone on the current roster near max or max money.

Remember when we were saying this about Dipo? Will we ever learn?

Gordon is not Olapdio...

If everybody developed the same way or everyone had the same skill-set everyone in the league would be a Superstar.

Again, I personally believe that Gordon will never be a star caliber player. Just a really good player...

And Oladipo wasn't George, and player X wasn't player Y. We always do this when talking about our players. Almost no one saw star potential in Dipo (I did, for the record), same thing is happening with AG. Only a few of us see it. Everyone here is always so negative.

[ralphie9898]

Remember when we were saying this about Dipo? Will we ever learn?

Gordon is not Olapdio...

If everybody developed the same way or everyone had the same skill-set everyone in the league would be a Superstar.

Again, I personally believe that Gordon will never be a star caliber player. Just a really good player...

And Oladipo wasn't George, and player X wasn't player Y. We always do this when talking about our players. Almost no one saw star potential in Dipo (I did, for the record), same thing is happening with AG. Only a few of us see it. Everyone here is always so negative.

I think it more of a mix of both positive and negative on Gordon. I think maybe he could develop into a Dipo caliber player(though I still have some reservations on how good Dipo is) but in the same breath I could see Gordon being less then Dipo. Only time will tell as does the team we have as it gets clearer to see star potential when you see your team winning like Dipo and Indi are doing.

[ralphie9898]

I can't believe this is a topic, let alone we're on a fifth page of this thread now.

There is no correlation between what we do with Aaron and what we do with Mario in my eyes. We can bring both back.

If someone wants to offer Aaron the max, it's worth matching. He's the furthest along out of the previous youth over the past 5 years. He's shown enough glimpses to me that he can be a go-to option offensively. Aaron doesn't get empty stats. He's a great defender, can guard multiple positions.The only reason we should ditch him would be if AG himself said he doesn't want to be in Orlando. As far as we know, that hasn't happened. So I expect Aaron to be in town for a long time.

In Mario's case, there is going to be at least one team that will offer him more money than we're allowed to (I'd probably bet on Sacramento). Mario in two months went from having to plan to go find a Euroleague job, to looking like a viable NBA bench player. He's looked really comfortable playing the Hedo role on offense, and his confidence finally reminds me of how he looked in Europe.
If I'm Mario, I'm not showing the franchise any loyalty. He needs to make the best decision for him. Only way he may take a 'pay cut' to remain here is if we offer more years on his contract (if security is what he's looking for) than other teams.

It'll be interesting to see how the team plays when we get everyone back healthy to finish off the season. Do we still play Mario a lot?

Mario needs to finish the season strong and he'll get offers. But we're still talking about a bench guy at the moment. Only instead of a 12th guy, we can talk 6th-8th guy. Aaron starts, no matter what position you think it should be.

yeah I wonder what the market will hold for Mario. Yeah he is playing better but how better is questionable and it is still a small sample size and you have to consider his past years in the equation as well. Also there isn't a ton of teams with cap space this summer as opposed to the past couple years and some teams may just wait till next year. Like the Lakers if they lose out on Paul George or Lebron. And there are other guys out there as well and I am not sure that Hezonja is very high up on teams priority list. But we shall see and we can't offer him much so a team with a full mi-level could very well take him away. We shall see. Also I am not sure about Gordon getting an offer sheet. You don't see a lot of offer sheets to restricted free agents and there will be plenty of other good RFAs better or of Gordon's caliber so we shall see there though it is possible.

[tleikheen]

Both .....if Gordon lets Mario play on the same team with him. Before AG's last injury he was shooting 19 shots to average 17 points in January and while AG was injured Hezonja averaged 17 ppg on 13 spg during the 9 games filling in. At this point in their careers Mario looks more the team player and AG looks like a selfish gunner ......hopefully that's not the way he's always going to play.Talent wise they look like a great twosome to build around.

[fendilim]

Remember when we were saying this about Dipo? Will we ever learn?

Gordon is not Olapdio...

If everybody developed the same way or everyone had the same skill-set everyone in the league would be a Superstar.

Again, I personally believe that Gordon will never be a star caliber player. Just a really good player...

And Oladipo wasn't George, and player X wasn't player Y. We always do this when talking about our players. Almost no one saw star potential in Dipo (I did, for the record), same thing is happening with AG. Only a few of us see it. Everyone here is always so negative.

The difference with Oladipo and Gordon though, at this point in their career, is Oladipo has already shown he is a good one on one player on our team. Gordon relies heavily on other guys creating for him.

[fendilim]

Yeah no kidding. I totally I agree. I like Hezonja and I hope we can keep him but even at higher money I take Gordon over Hezonja.

Show what statistics? The bunch of games with 7 minutes one game, dnp coach decision next 4 games, 2 minutes next game, 9 minutes after that game then another 5 dnp?

Not even jordan himself will get in a rhythm getting such treatment.

How do you even compare the two when Gordon's statistics are going to show when he's been having free reign the past two seasons, especially this season, while hezonja was on the blacklist until all these injuries happened...

When Gordon and vooch gets back after the ASB... you got vooch, gordon, Fournier, simms and DJ jacking up most of the shots (doofus Vogel system)...

While hezonja have to go back playing passive and get less minutes... so how do you even get a better sense of who he is when that happens? As you like to say

The only sense I'm getting is hezonja will once again be held back from being what he can become once everyone gets back after the ASB...

What's outta control are the things some posters type on this forum is truly


you should just stop hoping about Orlando signing hezonja (I did) because it's just not going to happen... at least you'll get a better sense of what he is when another team signs him and gives him the opportunity for a full season.

Its very easy to not be in the know and tell the coaches to play someone else. It wasn't just the coach that didn't let Hezonja play. It is also on Hezonja. Gordon hasn't had free reign to do whatever he wants. Sorry but if Hezonja deserved more playing time then I doubt a coach would just sit him for no reason. Hezonja is scoring but still leaves to a lot to be desired in other areas. Even shooting for every one field goal he makes he misses one even in the past 10 or so games. His plus minus while also the fault of the rest of team has still been one of the worst of the starters. He only has a small sample size and you can't just use that. We saw that with Payton last year when he was putting up triple doubles that it was more flash then actual substance. Plus we have seen it plenty of time where a guy in a contract year is playing better but doesn't continue that progression. That may or may not be Hezonja. Only time will tell but you can't accurately judge him yet. I simply have Hezonja as a question mark. An interesting question mark but still a question mark. Same goes for Isaac who has just as much potential as Hezonja ever did. Gordon is somewhat more of known commodity but even with him there are some questions to how good he will be. Sorry but Gordon is just ahead of Hezonja in a lot more ways. Sorry but this is a crazy question. IT doesn't have to be one or the other. We can still sign Gordon to whatever and offer Hezonja whatever we can,whether he takes it is up to him and what other offers he gets. BUt I don't understand how you can choose Hezonja over Gordon. Just as with the start of the season when we were on the top of the east we need to slow the brakes as we don't know much either way with Hezonja yet.

To he fair to both, AG benefitted that first and second year when we were trying to only make the playoffs. Mario benefitted the same during his rookie year(AGs 2nd year). But Mario’s second year, the team was desperately trying to make it in. Therefore failed to give Mario meaningful playing time. Also, Mario even said so himself, Vogel used him differently than Skiles. And having that injury didnt help him either.

To say Hezonja’s rise this year is relative to him being in his contract year is funny to say the least. Hezonja has always shown potential even during his rookie year, and some signs he is showing now, have always been there. Also, Mario’s 4th year wasnt picked up, should he have played well last year so that he can get get a job security?

[fendilim]

Gordon should never “walk” out of Orlando.

At this point, no asset should “walk” out of Orlando.

[MagicMatic]

Gordon should never “walk” out of Orlando.

At this point, no asset should “walk” out of Orlando.

No asset should. Mario will.

[Last Guardian]

Remember when we were saying this about Dipo? Will we ever learn?

Gordon is not Olapdio...

If everybody developed the same way or everyone had the same skill-set everyone in the league would be a Superstar.

Again, I personally believe that Gordon will never be a star caliber player. Just a really good player...

And Oladipo wasn't George, and player X wasn't player Y. We always do this when talking about our players. Almost no one saw star potential in Dipo (I did, for the record), same thing is happening with AG. Only a few of us see it. Everyone here is always so negative.

I saw it in Dipo. I do not see it in AG at all. He can't even create his own shot. I think giving him the max would be a huge mistake.

[Kings2013]

It would be good to sign AG to 20M/year contract, but likely there will be at least one team willing to overpay in order to steal him from us. Sacramento will have both cap space and open spot in starting lineup, coupled with mistake-prone management/ownership.

The Kings have prospects at the position in Skal/Giles, and it would be a mistake to hand a contract like that to him in particular given what he’s shown, so I’m guessing/hoping not

[ralphie9898]

Show what statistics? The bunch of games with 7 minutes one game, dnp coach decision next 4 games, 2 minutes next game, 9 minutes after that game then another 5 dnp?

Not even jordan himself will get in a rhythm getting such treatment.

How do you even compare the two when Gordon's statistics are going to show when he's been having free reign the past two seasons, especially this season, while hezonja was on the blacklist until all these injuries happened...

When Gordon and vooch gets back after the ASB... you got vooch, gordon, Fournier, simms and DJ jacking up most of the shots (doofus Vogel system)...

While hezonja have to go back playing passive and get less minutes... so how do you even get a better sense of who he is when that happens? As you like to say

The only sense I'm getting is hezonja will once again be held back from being what he can become once everyone gets back after the ASB...

What's outta control are the things some posters type on this forum is truly


you should just stop hoping about Orlando signing hezonja (I did) because it's just not going to happen... at least you'll get a better sense of what he is when another team signs him and gives him the opportunity for a full season.

Its very easy to not be in the know and tell the coaches to play someone else. It wasn't just the coach that didn't let Hezonja play. It is also on Hezonja. Gordon hasn't had free reign to do whatever he wants. Sorry but if Hezonja deserved more playing time then I doubt a coach would just sit him for no reason. Hezonja is scoring but still leaves to a lot to be desired in other areas. Even shooting for every one field goal he makes he misses one even in the past 10 or so games. His plus minus while also the fault of the rest of team has still been one of the worst of the starters. He only has a small sample size and you can't just use that. We saw that with Payton last year when he was putting up triple doubles that it was more flash then actual substance. Plus we have seen it plenty of time where a guy in a contract year is playing better but doesn't continue that progression. That may or may not be Hezonja. Only time will tell but you can't accurately judge him yet. I simply have Hezonja as a question mark. An interesting question mark but still a question mark. Same goes for Isaac who has just as much potential as Hezonja ever did. Gordon is somewhat more of known commodity but even with him there are some questions to how good he will be. Sorry but Gordon is just ahead of Hezonja in a lot more ways. Sorry but this is a crazy question. IT doesn't have to be one or the other. We can still sign Gordon to whatever and offer Hezonja whatever we can,whether he takes it is up to him and what other offers he gets. BUt I don't understand how you can choose Hezonja over Gordon. Just as with the start of the season when we were on the top of the east we need to slow the brakes as we don't know much either way with Hezonja yet.

To he fair to both, AG benefitted that first and second year when we were trying to only make the playoffs. Mario benefitted the same during his rookie year(AGs 2nd year). But Mario’s second year, the team was desperately trying to make it in. Therefore failed to give Mario meaningful playing time. Also, Mario even said so himself, Vogel used him differently than Skiles. And having that injury didnt help him either.

To say Hezonja’s rise this year is relative to him being in his contract year is funny to say the least. Hezonja has always shown potential even during his rookie year, and some signs he is showing now, have always been there. Also, Mario’s 4th year wasnt picked up, should he have played well last year so that he can get get a job security?

I don't think coaches or players tank. Maybe the GM but to me it is just one of the strategies that can help u get better. I think If Hezonja deserved more playing time then he would have got it. Gordon got time as id other young guys. Yeah maybe they missed the boat but maybe it was just also that Hezonja wasn't ready to be any good. Yeah I think we should have played him just to get him some experience but I am not an NBA coach. I don't think any coach can ignore positive impact whether that be for the now or for his future. A good coach does both and I don't think any coach tries to screw it up as he could end out of a job sooner then thought. We haven't had much if any shot at the playoffs recently and I don't think he had that much pressure to win(though I still there was some by ownership and some just came from him) but rather grow the young talent. And while Hezonja is scoring and playing well he also still has deficiencies, to where I would hold onto the brakes with this Hezonja craze. But in the end that this post doesn't make sense. We don't have an either or decision. Signing one doesn't mean we have to lose the one. We can sign Gordon to whatever(which I am still not sure he gets the max) and still offer what we can to Hezonja. Whether he accepts or not is up to him.

[tleikheen]

Their's alot of blindness going on about AG's game .....Gordon has gone from a favorite to one of alarm ,watching him turn gunner and not passing the ball .
On paper ...Vuc,Gordon,Hezonja ,Fournier ,???, 6th man Isaac looks like it could be a competittive lineup if they played for each other and not buddy ball and hero ball.

[tleikheen]

So am I missing something here....Hezonja says his knee wasn't right last year but the posters roast him for his bad year last year and call his stellar play the last 30 games only worthy of being a bench player ....Are you not watching the same deep stroke and athleticism that I see Hezonja displaying every game now?...I think he will get alot more fanz on the next team he's on.

[tiderulz]

So am I missing something here....Hezonja says his knee wasn't right last year but the posters roast him for his bad year last year and call his stellar play the last 30 games only worthy of being a bench player ....Are you not watching the same deep stroke and athleticism that I see Hezonja displaying every game now?...I think he will get alot more fanz on the next team he's on.

wish he had been honest with everyone about his knee. I didnt hear anything about it last year.

[pepe1991]

So am I missing something here....Hezonja says his knee wasn't right last year but the posters roast him for his bad year last year and call his stellar play the last 30 games only worthy of being a bench player ....Are you not watching the same deep stroke and athleticism that I see Hezonja displaying every game now?...I think he will get alot more fanz on the next team he's on.

wish he had been honest with everyone about his knee. I didnt hear anything about it last year.

Not really true, i remember him having knee issues with national in 2016 team where his coach told him to lose some weight to help himself. So knee problem goes all the way back to tail end of his rookie season.
knee swelling thing dates all the way back to his weight gain during rookie season, he said that he gained 20 pounds over half of a year in rookie season

[Furinkazan]

So am I missing something here....Hezonja says his knee wasn't right last year but the posters roast him for his bad year last year and call his stellar play the last 30 games only worthy of being a bench player ....Are you not watching the same deep stroke and athleticism that I see Hezonja displaying every game now?...I think he will get alot more fanz on the next team he's on.

wish he had been honest with everyone about his knee. I didnt hear anything about it last year.

as far as I remember It was mentioned briefly but since he played everybody kinda assued it wasnt a big deal and topic died