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NBA Trade Grades: Aaron Gordon lands with the Denver Nuggets

By Luke Duffy

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 18: Gary Harris #14 of the Denver Nuggets drives against Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center on December 18, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 18: Gary Harris #14 of the Denver Nuggets drives against Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center on December 18, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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NBA trade grades (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

NBA trade grades for the Orlando Magic

Getting Gary Harris back as the supposed best player in this trade is a weird one, mostly because the stock of Harris isn’t exactly sky-high. He is also currently injured and may not be back for some time yet. Not that this matters given that the Magic are tanking the rest of this season anyway.

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Look beyond just Harris though, and the deal looks a little better. Harris is 26 and at his best was averaging 17 points per game. There is no reason he couldn’t get back to that level again, it was just unlikely to happen in Denver with the emergence of Jamal Murray. In the future, he could be a nice backcourt partner to both Markelle Fultz (who is more defensive-minded), or Cole Anthony.

Rookie Hampton however, represents an insurance policy of Fultz continues to struggle with injuries, or else Anthony never turns into anything more than a reliable sixth man. It may be that Hampton himself is that for this team. Either way, when you have the opportunity to take on a 19-year-old on a rookie deal that another organization saw value in, you do it.

Hampton is not a reclamation project either. The Nuggets just realized that they are in win-now mode, and Gordon fits that bill better than Hampton. To that end, the Magic have done well, and it is kind of surprising they didn’t have the same logic when they traded Fournier. It was time for Gordon to go, and this was a deal that makes sense.

The protected first-round pick could yet turn into something as well but really it is hard to predict where anybody will be four years from now. It is always nice when a first-rounder gets added to a deal, it makes fans and front offices alike feel positive about what has gone down, but at this moment it is all about Harris and Hampton, and the Magic could have done worse.

Grade: B