Can The Golden State Warriors Find 2009 Ben Gordon?

On Monday, the Golden State Warriors officially signed veteran shooting guard Ben Gordon:

The Warriors, as promised, signed Ben Gordon today in time for him to join in on Media Day festivities here in 71-degree Oakland
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 28, 2015

According to NBA.com, the terms of Gordon’s contract have not yet been released. Via Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had the following to say about Gordon:

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"He’s a proven scorer, a proven shooter. He’s at an age where he should still be able to play. Physically, he looks good.So we’ll give him a chance. No guarantees of anything. But we do have, potentially, one roster opening. So we’ll give him a look."

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Kerr’s assessment of the No. 3 pick in the 2004 draft is dead on. The 32-year-old Gordon should have something left in the tank and he’s definitely proven he can score–twice in his career he’s posted season averages of more than 20 points per game. Gordon also won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award during his rookie year in 2004-05.

As a longtime Boston Celtics season ticket holder, I have one lasting memory of Gordon burned into my brain:

In Game 2 of the first round of the 2009 playoffs, Gordon poured in a ridiculous 42 points and nearly carried the Chicago Bulls to a stunning 2-0 lead on Boston’s home floor. The Celtics eventually won in seven games, with Gordon averaging 24.3 PPG in one of the greatest opening-round series ever played.

Unfortunately for Gordon, his career has never been the same since that postseason defeat.

After signing with the Detroit Pistons in the 2009 offseason, Gordon saw his numbers plummet. The year before with the Bulls he shot 41 percent from three-point land and scored 21.7 PPG, but with Detroit in 2009-10 he hit just 32 percent of his threes and averaged only 13.8 PPG.

During his first five NBA seasons in Chicago, Gordon scored 18.5 PPG and nailed 41.5 percent of his long-range attempts. Spanning the six years since, he’s connected on 37.7 percent from deep and put up 10.7 PPG.

Last season with the Orlando Magic, Gordon logged just 14.1 minutes per game with an average of 6.2 points. It appears as though Gordon’s career has been in a downward spiral since peaking at the age of 26.

However, Gordon hasn’t had a chance to return to the postseason since that spectacular series in 2009. Could finally playing for a contending team help him regain some of his old form?

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