Who is Aaron Gordon?
Let me start by saying this - Aaron Gordon is my favourite player on the Magic. The reasons behind this, well, they can change. I can spend some days unsure if it’s me hanging on to who I thought Aaron Gordon was going to be, or if I’m just enamoured by the boyish quiver in his voice when he talks about the game of Basketball (Yo, he really likes it, it’s cute). Either way, Aaron to me still stands as the face of franchise, even in light of Vucevic’s All-Star selection. He’s like that one friend of your ex that you still really want to hang with after the break-up cause you’re convinced you could have a real good friendship (In this case, the ex’s name rhymes with Schmob Schmennigan).
Let me get another thing out of the way – This is my first article for Close Up Magic, and I’m not gonna go too crazy on advanced stats and analytics. If you need that in your Basketball blog boy fandom I understand completely. But me, I’ll try for the most part to speak about Basketball as more art than science. Alternatively, if you want to buy a Cleaning The Glass subscription for me, we can talk.
Anyway, the Orlando Magic selected Aaron Gordon with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, which was, at the time, much to the chagrin of some Magic fans (myself included). If my memory serves me correctly – Exum was a common preference. Being Australian, I obviously was thrilled with the potential of Dante Exum being on the Magic, but that is a discussion for another day. We instead got young AG from the university of Arizona who came in to the league with a body that looked like a cross between Shawn Marion and Tayshaun Prince, but accompanied by a game that looked to have a potential of a Marion/Diet Coke Blake Griffin hybrid.
The framework had been set – the struggling Orlando Magic franchise had obtained an athletic young player, who (at the time) had displayed some versatility scoring wise, was a strong rebounder and had flashed high defensive upside. However, the framework then found itself chipped away at, again, and again, and again.
Here’s a list of injuries and coaching/front office changes Aaron Gordon has been a part of, or witnessed as a member of the Magic.
2014/15 season (His rookie season): Misses 32 games after fracturing a bone in his foot
2015/16 pre-season: Suffered broken jaw, affected season preparation.
2015: Jacques Vaughn is fired, and is replaced for remainder of the season with interim head coach James Borrego. Vaughn is ultimately replaced by former Magic point guard Scott Skiles
2016: Head coach Scott Skiles abruptly steps down in the summer, is replaced by former Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.
2016/17 pre-season: Struggled with ankle injuries, affected season preparation
2017: Magic GM Rob Hennigan is fired
2017/18 season: Struggled with back injuries and concussions, missed 24 games.
2018: Magic head coach Frank Vogel is fired
That list doesn’t even include the amount of teammates that have been traded out from under him. I get it, these guys are pros, and are expected to be pros regardless of the circumstances, and the flames of adversity have forged some of the most strong willed competitors the NBA has ever seen. It’s with this in mind that I’m not trying to give Gordon a pass, and I don’t want to fall in to the Orlando fan habit of exclaiming “He’s only *insert age* here!” because eventually a guy just has to be who they’re gonna be on the court. Who is Aaron Gordon, though? The young man who came in to the league and quickly proved himself as one the league’s best high flyers goes in to the 2019-20 season with the opportunity to further expand on his potential, or continue to tease fans with his inconsistent play, and play style.
There’s no denying Aaron Gordon is, like, good. There seems to be only a small handful of Magic fans I’ve witnessed give him praise that was any less than “He’s good”. Following a troublesome and frustrating 16-17 season where he was forced in to the Small Forward position as a result of Frank Vogel’s refusal to use Serge Ibaka at the 5, Gordon came in to the 2017-18 season looking like it was the start of his coming out party. Back at the power forward position (More on this later) he found himself with multiple 40 point games, a blistering rate from behind the arc and countless highlight plays. We as Magic fans thought he’d finally arrived after his first full, healthy off-season since his rookie year. It wasn’t long before his play (and efficiency) tapered off. Amidst a season of team injuries and tensions within the team (particularly between then Head Coach Frank Vogel and Aaron himself), Gordon began to display a level of poor decision making and erratic offensive tendencies that were not easily masked thanks to a career high usage rate of 24.7% over the season.
Coming in to the 2018-19 season, you could check a few boxes in regard to Gordon’s play: 1) Mean in transition 2) Plays well around the rim 3) High level defender when engaged. However, this could be coupled with: 4) Inconsistent shooter 5) Poor ball handling and 6) Warped perception of his own ability as a scorer. Time and time again through 18-19 we’d see the Magic offence break down in to Gordon iso>over-dribbling>lose the ball or miss a bad contested jumper. Decision making was going to be a huge area that needed improvement, and Aaron would need the opportunity to still play fast and be able to utilize his explosiveness and feel around the rim. Eventually, he would be provided with only a portion of these requirements. The Magic hired former Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, who had received a strict directive from the front office: Return this franchise to the playoffs. And so, he did. How did he do it? Well, he weaponized Nikola Vucevic’s talents and built an offence around his usage rate, leading the team with mountains of high post offence initiation, split cuts to draw defenders away from Vucevic going to work in the post, and above average defense. This was all well and good for Magic fans, however Clifford had then re-shaped the Aaron Gordon experience. Don’t get me wrong, it’s encouraging to have seen AG buy in so completely. Clifford instilled a level of accountability with Aaron and his offensive decision making that I’d not seen with any other coach he’d had, and it allowed him to take a noticeable leap with his play-making for others and efficiency, however this approach stifled Aaron’s biggest gift – not tool, gift – his athleticism. Some might argue AG as the prototype modern NBA power forward (Side note – I’m more comfortable with his stints at the 3 these days) with his put-backs, cutting and ability to defend multiple positions. In Clifford’s offence these traits at times felt disregarded, and whilst it developed other important aspects of Gordon’s game, it’s fair to ask the question if there’s a world where better decision-making, efficient play-making, strong 3 point shooting and strong off ball movement and dominance around the rim can exist all at the same time. There’s room for a discussion here about how much of this is impacted by the presence of Jonathan Isaac, Orlando’s number 6 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. However, I do see a world where they can co-exist in the future, or that they at least deserve further opportunity. I didn’t initially subscribe to that belief, but let’s check back in on it in a couple seasons.
How the Magic look going in to next season may shine some light on what the Aaron Gordon experience looks like from here on out. Aaron can play fast, up-tempo Basketball and whilst other elements of his game are being fine-tuned, he could still benefit from a little more focus in the offence and a little less apprehension in regard to getting out and trying to create in space. If Orlando lets Vucevic walk, then his replacement at the 5 definitely affects the canvas upon which Aaron Gordon will be free to paint – an athletic rim running big who doesn’t need the offence to live within the half court to be effective, and you’re gonna have yourself an Aaron Gordon who could potentially show off what we all knew him for, whilst still being able to grow as a player/decision maker in the half court, and grow his play-making ability with the ball put in his hands in a more purposeful fashion.
