Aaron Gordon has no time to wait, his time is now

The Orlando Magic have waited patiently for Aaron Gordon for three years. Gordon has displayed that patience. But this year is his to seize.

It is one of his better qualities, giving him the ability to read the floor and attack it. Gordon rarely forces play. Sometimes he will try to over dribble or overestimate his own skill, putting himself into traps or out of a primary scoring position. Scoring is still not his natural skill. But his game always displays a patience and methodical way about it. That is the hope he always had, even as he tried to figure out his game.

This patience is also something that can be a bit infuriating with Gordon. At least for fans.

Gordon rarely allows himself to think about anything grandiose. He still responds he feels comfortable playing either forward position or wherever the coaches want him to play. He is a good soldier in that way. It is clear now where he fits best, but Gordon sometimes plays like he wants to be that Paul George-style small forward. But Gordon will not admit his coaches were wrong. He just plays the role his coaches want.

Gordon never styles himself as a “star.” At least not publicly or with his words. He is supremely confident, but not in a boisterous way.

Do not mistake that for modesty. He envisions great things for himself. Gordon said after a recent practice that he hopes to one day be the best player in the league.

That window for him to climb into the upper echelon of his own draft class, even, is quickly closing. It is not just the questions about his contract extension or future with the team. Both come into focus as Monday’s extension deadline passed. The question is exactly where Gordon fits into the league.

Is Aaron Gordon a star in the making, able to use his athleticism to beat slower defenders and causing devastating damage in transition? Or is Gordon simply a promising, energetic forward? Someone who can defend both forward positions and provide secondary scoring.

These are the questions that get defined this year. Everyone with the Orlando Magic seems to know this is the year for Gordon to define himself and set the course of his career.

If Gordon wants to be that “all-time great” player he believes he can be, he must begin taking that step now. His time to wait for his development is over. All the stars have aligned for Gordon to make that major contribution this year.

Everyone expects him to take that all-important next step in the process.

"“It’s a process,” Evan Fournier said of Gordon’s development. “You have to keep getting better, and keep the faith and having confidence in yourself. As you play and get older, you are going to play more and more and your role is going to get better. I think we expect a lot of things from AG this year. Being a power forward is his real position, in my opinion. I think he is going to be really effective for us. He just needs to do what he does well. Don’t play like another player. Just be yourself, play to your strength and he is going to be really effective.”"

At 22 years old, Gordon still has a lot of room to grow. His 12.7 points per game were a career high last year, but also misleading because of how the team chose to play him early in the season. Gordon’s mixed — mostly, negative — results at small forward dropped his field goal shooting, rebounding and scoring significantly.

His play at power forward, even if Gordon will not admit it, was significantly better. He averaged 16.4 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game after the All-Star Break, playing power forward.

All that momentum carried over into the preseason. Gordon averaged 18.4 points per game and shot 53.6 percent from the floor in 24.0 minutes per game. That would be 27.7 points per 36 minutes.

That is not likely sustainable and they are preseason stats. But it certainly seemed like Gordon made a leap in his game through the preseason.

The biggest difference, according to Gordon, was truly his health. He made it through an entire summer and training camp healthy for the first time since his rookie year. That makes a huge difference.

Finally, all of Gordon’s hard work has a chance to come to fruition on the court.

"“It shows up in his work ethic,” Vogel said. “He works extremely hard on his game, he works extremely hard on his body. He is trying to get the whole group and raise the level of the whole kids. Our guys really care. Our fans need to understand that. We are working our tails off to get this group to be a winning team, winning franchise and have a winning season. We have a fresh opportunity to do that and we’re excited about it.”"

That is a common refrain from many players when they talk about Gordon. His work ethic is undeniable. His athleticism is undeniable. All the pieces to the formula are there.

But Gordon has not ever been able to put the whole thing together. He has not been able to take that next step on the court.

It is easy to see from Gordon’s play he has improved his game. His shot is as confident as ever. And he is much more confident on the ball. This is the time to believe in Gordon more than ever. Everyone envisions great things for Gordon.

But he is still unproven. And it feels like the team has been here before with him.

Gordon has never been able to take that solid leap on the court. And soon those opportunities will quickly run out. That is what free agency does. It puts a young player’s future into stark contrast. And Gordon’s future is firmly in the crosshairs.

For someone that seemingly has unbound potential, the story for Gordon this year is just how long the team is willing to wait.

It is Gordon’s time to go out and grab the season.

Gordon is a patient person. He ultimately has confidence in himself. He believes he is just about to take that next step. Yet, he will dutifully do what the coaches ask. He will do what is best for the team. Gordon is not a me-first guy.

But for this team to succeed — for Gordon to succeed with the Magic — he may need to become more of one.

This season is Gordon’s to rise or fall. This is the year that will define his career. Because this is the same story that has followed Gordon for several years now. Everyone has waited for him to do so.

Next: Orlando Magic hope efforts to jumpstart chemistry pay off

Now is his time.