From Heath Carter, via e-mail:
"Ask Aaron Gordon how he see’s his role? I got a glimpse of how devastating he could be on offense in summer league but his opportunities to showcase his talent seem to be garbage or hustle buckets instead of plays being called for him. When he is in games his shot looks a lot better. He overpowers players on the blocks at times and has the handles to go coast to coast. I really think he could be a 20+ pt scorer and we already have seen his on ball defense. Are we holding this guy back from taking his next step?? Right now I see him catch a pass and he doesn’t even look at the defense. He just throws it right back to his outlet. Is this our system or is he just not aggressive? That’s why I would like to know what he see’s his role as going forward."
Aaron Gordon is definitely still figuring out who he is as a player. But the growth has been incremental and clear in the course of this season. He has gotten better and more comfortable with his game and what he can do for this team.
That is not easy to do and there continue to be a few fits and starts — understanding good help-side defense and not getting overeager off the ball is a continuing fight. That is what you expect with a young player for sure.
The process is going to be incremental. Do not expect Gordon to be his final self this year. Maybe not even next, you just want to see him continue to improve and grow.
For now, Gordon’s role is to fill in gaps. He needs to provide energy, take advantage of defenses leaving him open by making 3-pointers or cutting into the lane. He needs to grab rebounds — something he has done extremely well of late — and play solid defense.
Gordon very much earned his place in the starting lineup by doing a lot of these things. It was clearly his time to enter the starting lineup, or if it was not, it was close.
I am not sure if he can be a 20-plus point scorer yet. There is still a very large ceiling. But he is gaining confidence in his shot and being smarter with his dribbles and when he attacks. Gordon is beginning to put a lot of pieces together and look like that player from Summer League in regular season games.
A full and healthy summer working out and preparing him would help a ton with his development.
Gordon still feels very much like a blank slate and so watching his development this offseaosn and the rest of this season will be incredibly interesting.
Next: Does Elfrid Payton fit with Scott Skiles?
Thanks to everyone for submitting to this mailbag. Sorry it took me so long to get to your questions. We will certainly do another one this season!