Aaron Gordon is an Orlando Magic project gone wrong
The Orlando Magic are seemingly headed into a fifth straight season without making the playoffs and a lot of that has to do with a top draft pick from 2014 who has not paid off.
The Orlando Magic have not taken the step they promised the fans in Central Florida they would in 2017. They have more questions than they have answers at this point into the season.
This biggest issue is the lack of growth of their high draft picks since Dwight Howard.
Victor Oladipo, the second overall pick in 2013, plateaued and left in a trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Aaron Gordon, the fourth overall pick in 2014, is still finding his footing. And Mario Hezonja, the fifth overall pick in 2015, cannot seem to crack the rotation consistently.
With so much pressure put on this season, the question has to be asked: Why hasn’t Aaron Gordon transformed into the player his potential suggest? And why have his draft colleagues like Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker look 10-times better as overall players?
Like Gordon, each of those players spent only one year in college. Yet, Gordon seems far behind. And individual statistics back that up.
When you dive into Gordon’s maturation process, nothing suggests he has fulfilled his potential. Or that the Magic organization has placed him in a position to be highly successful on the NBA level. And sooner rather than later, one or both has to happen before he enters restricted free agency following the 2018 season.
Every year Gordon has played with this franchise he has had a different role or different players around him that have not complemented his abilities. Injuries have not helped either.
The proof is in the pudding. The Magic attempted to pair his skill set with Serge Ibaka, but Frank Vogel has never really experimented starting Serge Ibaka and Gordon at the 5 and 4 since he has been at the helm. A move that may not be explored until it is too late to save this season.
The Magic are still debating internally where Gordon fits best. But most observers believe Gordon is out of position at the 3, no matter what skills he gains from this experiment.
If Gordon is the Magic’s future why move him out of a position he has grown into. Instead of that experiment, Vogel used Gordon at the small forward exclusively and Ibaka at the power forward although many compared Gordon to a young Blake Griffin or a versatile small-4 like Shawn Marion.
It is almost disrespectful to even compare him to Marion, who in his third year averaged 19.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. And Marion was selected with the ninth pick in the 1999 draft.
More times than not the expectation is for a player to become a franchise player when selected in the top five. Gordon has not quite reached that level — not even close despite his career-best scoring numbers this year.
When looking at one of Gordon’s draft colleagues like LaVine, who was drafted lower than him at No. 13, LaVine has grown into a better scorer. Now, of course, having two players who were selected number one overall to pair with LaVine has a lot to do with his growth. LaVine has not had to carry the scoring load. Then again, neither has Gordon.
Even though LaVine has shown growth with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team has not made the Playoffs with their young rising stars. Each one of their young draft picks (Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins and LaVine) is clearly a better all-around player than Gordon. A lot of the team’s failures have to do with the congestion of the competitive Western Conference. If they were in the Eastern Conference like Gordon and the Magic, they may be a Playoff team.
Even guys like Embiid and Parker, who have sustained injuries throughout their young careers like Gordon have ascended to higher levels. Injuries are not to blame either.
Embiid was getting some nods for the 2017 All-Star Game. Parker is getting comparisons to Carmelo Anthony on a daily basis, although Giannis Antetokounmpo is their best player. The Bucks have not made the Playoffs, but have more evidence that they will before the Magic.
For example, Embiid sustained injuries forcing him to miss his first two years. And he has logged fewer minutes than Gordon this year. Yet, Embiid is clearly the best player on his team.
Embiid is averaging 20.2 points per game and snatching 7.8 rebounds for a Philadelphia 76ers team that has improved during January.
Parker has had his share of injuries as well. But he is averaging 20.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Zach LaVine is averaging 19.3 points per game and 3.4 rebounds.
Why is Gordon only averaging 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game? Was he expected to average more for a team that has not made the Playoffs in five years? Are Gordon’s numbers what the fans expected when selecting the fourth overall pick in the draft?
These are all tough questions, but they are indeed questions that need to be answered. Gordon’s development has been slow. At some point, a player becomes what he will be for the rest of his career.
Gordon seems to be behind his peers in production because of his shifting role to the small forward. He has developed into one of the worst small forwards in the league statistically. His stats do not even look better than fourth-option guys like Otto Porter, who only averages 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Porter, mind you, is a former third overall pick in the Draft.
Gordon’s place as a top pick seems to demand he produce more. The Magic still have high hopes seemingly for the 21-year-old forward. There is still time to develop.
The Magic are heading into another year of being on the outside looking in. The pain they have put their fans through is unexplainable considering the number of lottery picks the team had.
It is not too late to shift Gordon back to the 4 and try to recapture a bit more of an offensive advantage for him.
Next: Nikola Vucevic helps Orlando Magic find their way
There are plenty of changes the Magic need with the trade deadline and the All-Star game approaching. This is just the first thing in order to allow Gordon to catch up with his draft night colleagues.