Orlando Magic’s eyes on Aaron Gordon, and they intend to keep him
As the focus turns toward free agency, Aaron Gordon comes front and center for the team. Their whole summer is built around re-signing him.
The Orlando Magic took the first step of their free agency Sunday. They did so rather quietly — no press release since it was such a pro forma and procedural move.
The Magic made their qualifying offer to Aaron Gordon to make him a restricted free agent. This is essentially a placeholder contract for the team that declares their intention to retain his rights. It is the thing that gives the player some leverage in negotiations — Gordon can always take the qualifying offer if he cannot find a contract he likes and enter unrestricted free agency next summer. But it also gives the team the right to match any offer sheet he receives.
This is the first step of the Magic’s free agency.
Before the Magic can do anything else, they must decide what they will do with Aaron Gordon. Will they keep him and for how much? Or will they let him walk — or try to recoup some assets through a sign and trade to Gordon’s preferred destination.
These are part of the big questions for the team.
Regardless of anything else that happens, Orlando likely has to deal with Gordon first before anything else. The 22-year-old forward is clearly the team’s priority this summer. And they have made every indication Gordon will be back in a Magic uniform one way or another next year.
"“Obviously Aaron is a huge priority for us,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said on Draft night. “We look forward to July 1 when we can visit him and start talking with his representatives. We’re hopeful that we’ll have him back.”"
All indications are the Magic intend to keep Gordon and will match almost any offer he might receive in free agency. It is still unclear what range his salary will fall. But it almost certainly will be greater than $20 million. Probably a bit more.
That marks a major investment for a team that is capped out, but still trying to develop a young core. For the Magic to make that kind of investment it would seemingly signal a belief in what Gordon may one day become — much more than what he is now.
With the way the market is setting up, that might come at a hefty price. There are plenty of people who believe Gordon could get a max contract at the end of the day.
Gordon’s max contract would come in at a starting salary of $25.3 million. It does not feel likely that is how high the Magic will go. But Gordon is on record hoping for and believing he is a max player. And it only takes one team to offer that amount and force the Magic into a difficult decision.
No one really knows what he wants until the two parties get to the negotiating table.
The reality too is only a few teams really have the money to sign Gordon outright — the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings. Other teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Indiana Pacers could get to a number that might entice Gordon. And the Brooklyn Nets, famous for issuing big contracts to restricted free agents and daring teams to match, likely cannot do so this year.
It may turn out then that Orlando has a lot of leverage to get a deal done, structuring it the way they want. Think of the way the Magic ended up structuring Tobias Harris’ contract — increasing the first two years before decreasing the final three.
To be sure, Orlando still has to take care of their player. The team should not give Gordon a complete low-ball offer. That is not how you build a good relationship with a player or an agent. Especially one that seems to be as vital to the team’s future.
Everything though revolves around this decision. Orlando could have as much as $15.3 million in cap room if they let Gordon walk and released his cap hold. Signing Gordon means the Magic believe he will become a core player for their team moving forward. It is that sizeable of an investment. And might push the team’s timeline to make a Playoff push up more — even as Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba develop.
It will not take long for the Magic to turn their attention to free agency. Clearly, the roster needs some revamping. Weltman said after the draft was over that attention had already turned to free agency. And surely that meant adding new players through trades and free agency.
That attention also is on Gordon.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi2sqKkHJG8/?taken-by=youngheirgordon
Coach Steve Clifford visited Aaron Gordon in San Jose shortly after he took over the job and got a chance to watch him workout and prepare. What he told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel seems to check out plenty on what we know about Gordon.
No one will question whether Gordon will put in the work.
His strong scoring leap last year — from 12.7 points per game to 17.6 points per game and 28.8 percent 3-point shooting to 33.6 percent 3-point shooting — was a product of a summer where he was finally healthy to improve his game.
Gordon had plenty of moments throughout last season where he looked like he was a bit overconfident and overeager to take over. But he certainly has room to grow and improve at 22 years old.
A new contract is an investment in that continued improvement. Through the first 25 games of the season, Gordon looked like an All-Star, averaging 18.5 points per game and making 40.1 percent of his 3-pointers. That shooting was not sustainable. But clearly, Gordon showed that potential over an extended period of time.
For now, that seems like something the Magic are ready to invest in. The question will be for how much?
That is the part that is a little harder to figure. The market will help set that amount at the end of the day too. Other teams could decide just how much it will cost the Magic to keep Gordon.
Or Orlando could take care of things up front and offer him a contract before he hits free agency and the open market. That seems just as likely to happen in the end.
The one thing that is clear is the Magic know they have to take care of Gordon first. He is the big piece to their summer and ultimately a big part of their team.
Next: Potential replacements at point guard
All indications remain that they will do so and keep him in Orlando.