Orlando Magic: Aaron Gordon Their Most Important Player?

Despite adding quality players this summer, is Aaron Gordon still the Orlando Magic’s most important player?

The Orlando Magic made big changes this summer to be more competitive next season. They added Serge Ibaka, and in doing so cut ties with Victor Oladipo. They also signed Bismack Biyombo to an $82 million deal, while also hanging onto Nikola Vucevic.

They picked up guards D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson and Jodie Meeks to ensure Elfrid Payton‘s growth in to a top player continues as well. In short they went through the kind of roster overhaul that will likely bring short term improvement.

But could it be that a player who was already on this team could hold the key to long term success? In Aaron Gordon, the Magic would appear to have a forward who will one day be an All-Star. But will that jump come this season?

Gordon is only 20 years old, but this will be his third year in the league. In that time, he’s gone from an enthusiastic kid with insane hops who was existing on raw talent alone to somebody who can make a difference within the confines of a team.

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Off the court, he’s become more well known too. Marketability doesn’t guarantee on court success, but it’s also true that big companies usually only work with guys they feel have star power. They do get this wrong however, just not that often.

Gordon’s display in the Slam Dunk contest on All-Star Weekend was the moment he became known to the casual fan.

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But less well known is the fact that he went on to average 12 points and 7.3 assists after the All-Star break (averages of 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds beforehand).

His play has been steadily improving, and we may now have reached a point where it’s about to explode in a big way. This is partly down to his potential, but also the fact that he’s in the right place at the right time.

Whereas guys like Oladipo and Tobias Harris were asked to do some heavy lifting at a young age for this team, Gordon has been able to grow at his own pace. He has now reached a point where he’s as good as he’s ever been, but his teammates are better than ever too.

If he shares the court with Ibaka and Biyombo next season, he’s going to have fantastic help defensively (where he’s shown a real desire to get stuck in) while also being able to show more of what he’s capable of offensively.

What makes this even better is when you consider the kind of progress he was making anyway, even though he was a part of a team that once again missed the playoffs last year. Something obviously clicked for him as he became more valuable on the court.

Gordon could well emerge as an early candidate for most improved player next season, and working with new head coach Frank Vogel will only bolster his case. Gordon is no Paul George, but Vogel got the best out of George on both ends of the court in Indiana with the Pacers.

Vogel will be the best coach Gordon has ever worked with, and that will surely bring results. One thing that will need to change however is Gordon’s playing time. Last season he played in 78 games, starting 37 as he played 24 minutes a night.

As he continues to grow, he will have to play more. Where that may be difficult however, is trying to find minutes for the other, higher paid veterans on this team. If he could up his three point percentage (29 percent last season) he would become too good to leave on the bench.

There’s no doubting then, that Gordon could become the face of this team as soon as this season. But with that comes two intriguing dilemmas. The first of which is that, with more quality bigs than ever on the team, should he put the ball on the floor more?

Versatility is the key to success these days, and while Gordon has the hops to play at the center spot in a small ball line-up, if he learns to put it on the floor more he could become terrifying.

Think of a five man group of Biyombo, Vucevic, Ibaka, Gordon and Payton. It would be weird, it possibly wouldn’t work. But it could also be beautiful, with opponents getting barrelled over by the sheer power and size of this team.

Gordon’s ball handling abilities would be critical to this. If he became more comfortable with ball in hand (his usage rate did go from 15.5 percent to 17.3 percent between years one and two) there truly is no telling how good he could become.

Going in the complete opposite direction though, Gordon could be the key to a brighter future for another reason entirely. Only a handful a players in the league don’t have a price, and Gordon’s stock is rising noticeably.

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If somebody like

or

, bonafide All-Stars, were to become available, wouldn’t Gordon be the

perfect player

to base a package around? It seems cruel, and silly as well given how much potential he has.

But the Magic have shown that they are not afraid to make a risky move, and if the price is right, moving Gordon along could secure a better long term future for this franchise.

So it seems that, no matter what the Orlando Magic do with Aaron Gordon, they are onto a winner. He’s only getting better on the court, and if he adds a jump shot or the ability to put it on the floor more he could have a breakout season.

On paper he’s playing with the kind of players who will raise his standard of play, while also masking the inefficiencies in his game that he’s still working on ironing out.

On the other hand though, he may have reached a point where his trade value has never been higher, and so could be used to bring in another All-Star. The kind of player that might keep Serge Ibaka around longer than this season.

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No matter which way it goes, it looks Gordon just became his team’s most important player. Question is, what will his team do with him?