Orlando Magic’s summer revolves around Aaron Gordon decision
By Drew Miller
Aaron Gordon will be expensive in free agency. But he is the closest thing the Magic have to a franchise cornerstone making him a top priority.
The Orlando Magic are stuck in limbo.
Another year with a draft pick high enough for a quality player but too low for one of the top guys. And another year with a misconstructed roster without a clear cornerstone.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond have to decisions to make this offseason — they must decide their team’s direction as they remake the roster.
With their predecessors locking up role players Bismack Biyombo, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier to massive contracts, cap space is tight and each cap decision is decisive. Orlando has little ability to add to the roster through free agency right now. In many ways, the team is stuck with what they have.
And that does not get into one of the bigger decisions the Magic have left to make. A decision on whether to wrap their team up with another big contract.
Aaron Gordon is hitting restricted free agency this offseason. After averaging 17.6 points per game and showing improvements with his 3-point shooting, Gordon is the closest thing to a cornerstone.
It was a breakout season for him. He finally turned his potential into something tangible on the court. It was a major revelation for him and came at the absolute right time.
Things are not all good though. His raw numbers looked good. But Gordon struggled down the stretch — shooting just 40.6 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc in his final 19 games played.
It leaves plenty of questions about his worth.
Gordon believes he knows what he is worth. He said so with the brash bravado of a 22 year old at exit interviews. He told the media he believes he is worth a max contract.
"“Ideal? Ideal is max,” Gordon said. “That would be ideal. Three letters. Definitely here. That would be ideal. If John [Hammond] and Jeff [Weltman] made that investment, that would definitely be ideal to get those three letters on my name.”"
There are few teams that can offer this kind of deal to Gordon. Approximately 80 percent of the league will be over the cap next year. And most teams that have cap space are targeting better players.
Teams with cap space looking for proven stars include the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.
Most other teams with cap space are rebuilding. Some might be interested in adding a young player like Gordon to develop with their young core. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns are rumored to be interested in Gordon. And they might drive his price up to a max contract.
Giving Gordon a max deal would tie up the Magic’s cap space for the foreseeable future. A five-year, $148-million deal would essentially cancel any other free agency plans for the foreseeable future.
While the Magic seem unable to lure a top free agent to Orlando, the lack of future flexibility will severely hamper the team. This would lock in the core of Evan Fournier, Bismack Biyombo, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and future draft picks.
Management must decide on the team’s future with what they do with Gordon. Keeping him leaves them married to several long-term contracts and faith in Gordon’s development as a young player. Letting him leave seemingly commits Orlando to another long-term rebuild.
On one hand, the current core has proven ineffective in today’s NBA. On the other, previous management drafted Gordon, meaning the current front office has less stock in him.
Management is not forced to resign Gordon to an absurd deal. They have the freedom and clout to run the team as they want. They also have the matching rights on Gordon. If they want to keep him, they can match any offer.
Everything this summer for Orlando as Weltman digs into this team really for the first time will revolve around the Gordon decision.
With the sixth pick in the NBA Draft, it is unlikely one of the three elite centers — Deandre Ayton, Jaren Jackson Jr. or Mohamed Bamba — will remain. This leaves the Magic looking at Michael Porter Jr. or a group of point guards including Trae Young.
Drafting Porter, a combo forward similar to Gordon, would clutter the frontcourt. But it could lower the blow if the team lets Gordon go in free agency.
This will prove to be a difficult decision. Gordon is the closest thing to a cornerstone the Magic have. Gordon, who averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, has made a big leap in his fourth year in the league.
The biggest knock on Gordon coming out of college was his shooting, and he made great progress in this area. He has developed a consistent shot from outside the arc, increasing his 3-point percentage from 27.1 percent in his rookie season to 33.6 percent this past season.
Without Gordon, the team is simply aimless. There is nobody on the roster to build around. Not resigning Gordon would leave the Magic in the same place they were in six years ago –starting over.
The free agent market for Gordon will be dry. There is incredibly limited cap space this offseason, and the teams that do have cap space are going after the big fishes of free agency — LeBron James and Paul George. Gordon will have to wait his turn if he wants that big payday.
Or the Magic could give him the big offer to retain his services.
If the league thinks the Magic will match any deal, teams will be reluctant to waste time on him.
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Orlando may very well keep him at a contract near four years, $100 million. It seems like a deal that would benefit both sides. Keeping Gordon as the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild and giving Gordon the financial security and placement on the roster he seems to crave.