Orlando Magic Trade Targets: Aaron Gordon Trade Scenarios
The Orlando Magic were rumored to have shopped Aaron Gordon at the February deadline and could be looking to move the young forward this offseason.
Before the suspension and restart of the 2020 season in Orlando, the Orlando Magic were rumored to have shopped Aaron Gordon during the annual NBA trade deadline in mid-February, per Forbes’ Sean Deveney.
Interest across the league was low at the time given Aaron Gordon’s contract still had some fat on it. He signed a 4-year $84 million deal as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2018. And the Magic were still in the midst of a playoff battle, unwilling to give away a young player without a healthy return.
Gordon’s contract is heavily front-loaded, paying $20-plus million in the first two years, before declining to $19.9 and $18.1 million in 2021 (next season) and 2022, respectively. With the decline in cost, more options become available and more suitors become interested.
As the offseason gets set to begin, Gordon is still in the crosshairs. If the Magic entered the trade deadline shopping Gordon around, it was likely more to test the market. Unless a deal blew them away, they were perfectly content to keep him.
That might still be the case. All the while, the now 25-year-old forward has struggled to find consistency. He had a stellar offensive season in 2018, followed that up with a stronger all-around and defensive season in 2019 in helping the Magic reach the Playoffs.
But that star push never came in 2020. Injuries slowed him down for sure, but Gordon struggled to shoot and only started to build up the kind of high-level play everyone expected of him only late in the season. And nobody knows what he would have looked like in the playoffs because of one final injury for good measure.
The Magic are facing an offseason where change feels necessary. The team did not advance up the standings. And the young Gordon with two years left on his contract remains the team’s most attractive trade piece. At least, the one the Magic might be most willing to part with.
For now, Orlando is planning on having Gordon on their team and focusing on internal improvement. But there are reasons a Gordon deal might be difficult for the Magic.