Aaron Gordon: 4 years, $84 million (Orlando Magic)
Orlando RFA Aaron Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $84 million deal to re-sign with the Magic, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2018
Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo and now possibly Mario Hezonja … the list of former Orlando Magic players who blossomed after leaving was getting too depressing to let Aaron Gordon slip through their fingers. As such, a four-year, $84 million pact is what it will take to keep him in The City Beautiful.
As a restricted free agent, the Magic could’ve matched any offer for their 22-year-old power forward. Instead, they were able to reach terms on a deal well below his max, which is fitting for a player with a lot of potential, but not quite a guaranteed future of becoming an NBA star.
Last season, Gordon came out of the gates scorching hot from 3-point range, but his shooting fizzled out as the year went on. He averaged a career-high 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, despite his unwieldy .434/.336/.698 shooting splits. Still, if he can continue to fine-tune his jumper at such a young age, he’ll become a two-way star pretty quickly.
Gordon showed more promise than Oladipo, Harris or Hezonja ever did in Orlando, so it’s good the Magic pounced and kept one of their most fundamental building blocks. This deal handsomely compensates him, while also acknowledging his game still has a ways to go. Now it’s just a matter or figuring out how Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba are going to fit together.
Bourguet Grade: A-
Hoops Habit Grade: A