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Orlando Magic Trade Value Column 2020

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Evan Fournier could not get the Orlando Magic offense moving in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
Evan Fournier could not get the Orlando Magic offense moving in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic, Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks
Aaron Gordon has struggled offensively this year for the Orlando Magic. Without Jonathan Isaac, Gordon has to snap out of his funk. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

3. Aaron Gordon (3 years, $54.4 million)

It is still hard to believe that Aaron Gordon is just 24 years old. It feels like you always have to remind yourself of this as you analyze him. There is still so much more potential for him to grow. Giving up on him now could be folly.

Orlando Magic fans certainly fear a repeat of trading Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris too soon. They have seen enough of their former young players go off elsewhere and become at least near star players or major contributors.

Giving up on Gordon this soon would be a mistake. There is no doubt about that.

But there is also still a question about his fit with Jonathan Isaac (foreshadowing to the rest of this list) and figuring out how to get the most of him within a roster that still feels fairly limited.

And if the Magic want to package a player to get a disgruntled star and complete this roster, Gordon is probably the contract the team has to trade to do that. And with his front-loaded contract, they probably have to do that within the next calendar year.

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Denver Nuggets forward claps back at Noah Lyles after Finals comments /

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    • Complicating matters further is Gordon’s frustrating 2020 season.

    This was a year a lot of pundits believed Gordon would take a leap forward. Instead, his offense has cratered to 13.6 points per game on a career-worst 46.9-percent effective field goal percentage. His 3-point shooting has flirted around the 30-percent mark all year.

    Defensively, Gordon has done a good job with ball containment. He remains the team’s best individual defender on a team that hangs its hat on defense. But his defense has even taken a small step back.

    Gordon’s chances to star still come from his ability to make and create shots for himself. And that development has stalled.

    This has cratered the return the Magic surely hoped for Gordon. They probably should still hold out to get a start-caliber player in return for him because Gordon still has that potential. But the team also needs to start shaping the team into the vision the front office has.

    Gordon is young enough the Magic can and probably should wait things out. And that makes him still very valuable to the team.