Offensively speaking, Gordon is not a great shooter. That is putting it lightly. While shooting 53% on two point field goal attempts, Gordon was awful from three. He shot 29% on over 3 attempts per game. Using Basketball Reference's handy dandy season finder, it was done last season by Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart. It is not only that Gordon shoots so many three pointers it is that he takes some bad shots during the course of games. He takes contested three pointers and seems to shoot them with the confidence of someone shooting a much higher percentage. In spot up situations Gordon finished in the 17th percentile in the NBA averaging an awful 0.79 points per possession. Spots made up 22% of his possessions and that means he is not helping his team in those possessions. Post up situations also do not look kindly on Aaron Gordon and he finished in the 25th percentile averaging 0.79 points per possession. In almost every offensive category, Gordon does not rate out well except for cuts. As a cutter, I would say that Aaron Gordon is elite. He makes use of open space and his quickness and athleticism allow him to get to spaces and receive passes that he can finish quickly.
Defensively, Aaron Gordon rates out well in all categories, but there is some room for him to grow. The problem with evaluating a player's individual defense is that a lot of it can be affected by the team that they play on. A team full of good defenders will help individuals look better in defensive ratings as opposed to a team full of bad defenders. The greatest thing you can see for Gordon as I said above is that he plays hard and that is most important with defense. Gordon is the type of player that could help you defend a team like the Warriors. He has good size, quickness, and he is very athletic allowing him to cover any mistakes that he may make. As a defender, he does have a tendency to get baited into fouls, but this is something that can be corrected. After all, he is only 22 years old.
Overall, the debate of what to do with Aaron Gordon is one that can be applied to a lot of players in the NBA. Gordon cannot shoot, but neither can Marcus Smart or Anthony Roberson, but they are important players on playoff teams. There is no reason that Gordon cannot be just as effective as they are on a winning team. The Magic have a coach in Frank Vogel that did very well in Indiana, but he is going to need more players. I am not sure if the Magic have the right personnel to suit the things that their coach wants to do. Put Gordon on the floor with shooters and you can hide his deficiencies, but put him on the floor with Bismack Biyombo and Elfrid Payton and he is going to hurt your spacing along with those 2. As mentioned above, he is a great cutter. He has to be able to improve his shooting in order to become a better player overall. Right now, he is an athletic non shooter that plays very hard. He can be elite defensively and he is a good cutter, but those traits are wasted when you play for a bad team. It will be interesting to see how the Magic can improve this season or if it is more of the same. Aaron Gordon could absolutely be a player that helps you win. This will be his fourth season and at the end of it he will be a restricted free agent. He will have suitors, but I am sure that the Magic will match because they can also see his value as a player. This is a big season for Gordon and the Magic.
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