Aaron Gordon is finding his place in the NBA

Growing his niche

Although Aaron Gordon has not been what the Magic have hoped as a small forward on offense, sometimes you just cannot fit a square shape into a round hole.

At this point in his career, handling the ball and shooting just is not part of his identity, and that is fine. He is still a young player with plenty of room for improvement and maybe, in time, those things will come.

Then again, maybe they will not.

If nothing else, with his up-and-coming defense, Gordon is ensuring he will be a valuable NBA player for years to come. That is one of the most important steps in a young player’s career. And he is taking it with gusto.

Whether he will get to spend significant time on a roster that showcases what his offensive game already is a different conversation. Whether his offense will ever fit the small forward position is also a different conversation.

The bottom line is regardless of the circumstances surrounding him, he is carving out a niche for himself. There is no telling what he could do playing alongside better defensive personnel.

It is still hard to say what exactly his ceiling is, but his floor has never been higher.

Next: Aaron Gordon's injury shrinks Orlando Magic's margin for error

As we head down the stretch of his third season, Gordon is showing us he is well on his way.