Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

2017 Central Florida 85 Nos. 1-17: The Best of the Best

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - AUGUST 31: UCF mascot Knightro takes the field before the football game between the visiting FIU Panthers and the UCF Knights on August 31, 2017 at Spectrum Stadium in Orlando FL. (Photo by Joe Petro/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - AUGUST 31: UCF mascot Knightro takes the field before the football game between the visiting FIU Panthers and the UCF Knights on August 31, 2017 at Spectrum Stadium in Orlando FL. (Photo by Joe Petro/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 18
Next
Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons
ORLANDO, FL – APRIL 12: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic dunks against the Detroit Pistons on April 12, 2017 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

9. Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic

The NBA is full of deadlines. The trade deadline spurs action. Contracts run out and change value for players. Today’s good contract becomes tomorrow’s bad contract in a snap. No league sees money and contracts become part of the everyday lexicon in establishing a player’s value and worth.

From the moment a player is drafted, the countdown begins until the inevitable question about how much to pay that player and what he will be starts. The question has already claimed Victor Oladipo, the second overall pick in 2013. The Orlando Magic were no longer willing to wait on him to become whatever he was supposed to be.

And so the clock now ticks to Aaron Gordon. He has survived this long on his potential. That sublime athletic potential that dazzled fans at the NBA All-Star’s Dunk Contest the last two years and in seemingly crazy feats of athleticism in every game. At some point, it needs a value beyond his controlled rookie salary.

That time is now. And the Magic still seem no closer to figuring out exactly what he is or how much they might be willing to pay for that. After all, the team spent last year playing him at small forward, after spending the first two years of his career playing him mostly at power forward. When that did not work, they switched him back to power forward.

Gordon averaged a career-high 12.7 points per game. That is hardly the kind of numbers any team would pin a future star on. Yet, there was Gordon back at power forward last year after the All-Star Break, averaging a robust 16.4 points per game. And this is all from a player who is 21 years old and still has not had a fully healthy NBA summer.

For all the ups and downs of the last three years, Gordon still represents hope. The hope that potential can turn to reality and the last five years was not in vain. That the player picked fourth overall could reach his ceiling.

The Magic will once again hope Gordon will take that leap. Maybe this time they will put him int he position to succeed. Otherwise, they could cut him loose in the offseason or sooner and begin the cycle again.