Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic is more naturally a power forward than he is a small forward. While his 6’9″ height should allow him to play either, Gordon isn’t the most skilled of offensive players. However, now that the Magic acquired power forward Serge Ibaka, Gordon will play the three, says head coach Frank Vogel. From ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
“If Serge Ibaka weren’t here, Aaron Gordon would be my power forward,” Vogel said. “But Serge is here. Aaron is going to be playing [small forward]. We are going to put the ball in his hands a lot. We’re going to use him like Paul George.”
That would make the Magic huge and mobile — especially when they have Gordon, Ibaka, and Biyombo on the floor together. Those three can switch on defense, pound the glass on offense, and form a six-armed rim-protecting hydra to fix Orlando’s glaring weakness. The Magic are plotting a counter-revolution. “In today’s small-ball NBA, we think we can beat the [expletive] out of teams in the paint,” Vogel said.
Gordon is stoked to stretch his skill set. “I’m gonna be like a third guard,” he said. “I’ll have a much bigger ballhandling responsibility, and I’m all for that.”
This is an interesting idea, but I’m not sure that it works out quite as well as Vogel is hoping. Aaron Gordon is no Paul George. Gordon is a terrific athlete, and his defensive ceiling is through the roof. The problem, though, lies on the offensive end. Gordon isn’t much of a shooter (29.6% on three-pointers in 2015-16) and his play-making abilities aren’t anywhere near as developed as George’s are. Having Gordon at the three and Elfrid Payton at the one poses spacing concerns, and I’m not sure Ibaka or Nikola Vucevic are enough to solve those problems. The only elite three-point shooter in Orlando’s starting five will be Evan Fournier.
Obviously, Gordon is only 20 years old, and has plenty of time to become more polished offensively. However, it’s hard to bet on a drastic improvement next season.
