Orlando Magic: Pass or pursue on 3 NBA trade deadline rumors
By Luke Duffy
Aaron Gordon to the Houston Rockets?
Since losing James Harden earlier in the season to the Brooklyn Nets, the Houston Rockets have not been having a good time of it. Right now they have a core that is centered around point guard John Wall, former All-Star Victor Oladipo and a young standout in Christian Wood. At this point, a deal that would land Gordon in Houston would see Oladipo go the other way.
Gordon and Wood are not a bad place to start, two wings that can have an impact on both ends of the floor. Wall is going to give that team something for some time yet as well, his return from injury having had some positive moments so far. The irony of swapping Oladipo for Gordon would not be lost on anybody though.
Oladipo of course began his career in Orlando, a second overall pick who for three-plus years looked on some nights like he could the solution, and then on others was more like the problem. Kind of like how Gordon is viewed by Magic fans now, the lack of consistency to his game is what has hindered his progress.
For the Magic, now under a different front office than the one that gave Oladipo away for a Serge Ibaka rental and then watched him blossom into an All-Star, making this move would hurt just too much. Imagine going on this merry-go-round of trading young players such as Oladipo (and Mario Hezonja, Elfrid Payton, even Tobias Harris), to end up right back where they started.
This time though, Oladipo would be returning having suffered a devastating injury which caused him to miss extensive time, one which he is still not 100 percent back from. Even from an optics point of view, to say nothing of the return itself, this is a trade that the Magic should avoid. There have to be better deals out there, right?
The only potential reason to explore this would be if a third team got involved and took on Oladipo. It is unclear right now who that could be, but if it meant the Magic got a younger, fitter player in return from elsewhere, that would be worth looking into. If the deal was centered around Oladipo and Gordon however, and knowing Oladipo would likely bounce when he could anyway, it’s a no.