Aaron Gordon waiting for his season to start, but will be ready
Aaron Gordon is waiting for his season to start as he patiently waits for clearance to join practice and prove his Summer League was no mirage.
Aaron Gordon excited fans around the NBA with his sudden emergence during Summer League. He was aggressive attacking the basket and confident with his shot. It seemed he was transformed as a player.
He was confident and the amorphous skills that had tantalized the Magic in his lone season at Arizona seemed finally to be coming to the forefront. He seemed more than capable of answering the big question about the Magic this season and fill in a major role for this team.
Then the news came out Gordon had broken his jaw and would miss the beginning of training camp. It put a huge damper on the season.
Showing no ill effects from the surgery, Aaron Gordon spoke about the injury in numerous places before and during Media Day. Gordon said the injury will not slow him down aside from keeping him out of contact drills and that he is simply taking the precautions his doctors have asked for before getting into full contact in drills.
“It’s OK,” Gordon said. “I completely accept where I am at right now. All I can do is continue to do what they tell me to do and continue to do what is best for myself. By the time it’s time for me to play in Brazil, I will hit it right in stride.”
Gordon is putting a goal, it would seem on his return to the court for the Magic’s Oct. 17 trip to Rio de Janeiro to play Flamengo. He also told Justin Termine of NBA Today last week he was 80-90 percent healthy ahead of training camp:
Gordon has been participating in drill work so far at training camp, but has been held out of contact drills and scrimmaging drills.
Scott Skiles said he has not noticed any letdown in Gordon’s conditioning. Despite the injury, that did require Gordon’s jaw to be wired shut and did require Gordon to liquefy his food and drink through a straw for some time, Gordon was able to keep his conditioning and strength up.
Gordon said he was able to do single-leg squats and full-body squats shortly after the surgery and he worked back in regular weight training and skill work. Gordon said the injury only interrupted his momentum briefly but he got it back again quickly. Gordon reported he actually gained four or five pounds from his Summer League weight after losing nearly 10 pounds after the surgery.
As much as anyone, Gordon understood his Summer League was too successful for any setback when he gets back onto the court. Still the concerns linger when he finally does hit the floor full go.
“When a player like that has put in the time and work that he has put in, and I don’t like to base a lot in Summer League but in his case it was obvious he improved,” coach Scott Skiles said. “It was so obvious. It is a setback he can’t go through all of camp.
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“We’re maybe two and a half weeks or so from him getting cleared. He’s able to go through non-contact things. It’s not that he has a leg injury and he has to sit on the side. And his conditioning is good so he won’t have to catch up in that regard. He and Evan both are two guys that are going to be in our playing rotation. It’s unfortunate they can’t go right now.”
The Magic definitely might be working to catch both Gordon and Fournier (who sprained his ankle in the bronze medal game of Eurobasket) up when they get back. Both are key players for the team this season.
And Gordon still feels very much like a blank slate as far as who he is as a player.
“He definitely looks different,” Elfrid Payton said. “Obviously he has matured. He was able to get some experience last year. And even with him being out, he was able to look at the game from a different perspective. He was able to get in here and work on his game and I think it showed.”
Until he hits the court, the Magic will hold onto what Aaron Gordon could be and believe it will carry over when he is ready to suit up fully.