What an unexpected day this has been for Orlando Magic fans. Year after year they have watched on at the trade deadline from the sidelines, but today has been all about them. Nikola Vucevic is gone to the Chicago Bulls. Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics. You can now add Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets to that list.
Much like the previous two deals, fans may be a little puzzled by this one as well. It is no secret that the Magic have needed change for some time now, and they have enough young players to get excited about. But at this point, it just feels like they’re firing out guys in all directions in the hopes they land on a superstar in the future.
NBA trade grades: Aaron Gordon goes to Denver Nuggets, Gary Harris the other way
Orlando gets:
- Gary Harris
- R.J. Hampton
- Protected first-round pick (2025)
Denver gets
- Aaron Gordon
- Gary Clark
Of the three deals that have gone down now for the Magic, Gordon leaving was the one that had been predicted the most. Gordon had asked to be traded last month, before apparently having some second thoughts on the matter. He is gone now though, switched coasts and joining the Western Conference finalists of a year ago.
The Magic’s return for Gordon is again, something, but the Nuggets can feel pretty good about the business they have done. They are a contender as it is, and didn’t give up any crucial pieces in their quest to become better. Gordon is one of the most underrated defenders in the league and should help in that regard right away.
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.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
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
NBA trade grades for the Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets have just become even more fearsome, and they didn’t even have to get rid of anybody of note to do it. While the Magic can talk themselves into what could be with both Harris and Hampton, neither was clearly a part of the immediate future in Denver. They have actually been victims of their own success in how well they have drafted.
There is always a fear that a young player may come back to haunt a team when they trade him for no reason other than because they had to, and Hampton could yet be that for the Nuggets. Certainly, the Magic are hoping that will be the case. But with the dust settling on the transaction, the Nuggets won’t be losing any sleep.
They came close last season, and right now the Los Angeles Lakers are down their two best players, while their own All-Star center Nikola Jokic is right in the thick of the MVP conversation. The start of the season was rocky for the Nuggets, but they were one of the last remaining franchises in the bubble in Florida.
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1375125287051005953
They have righted the ship now and look like they will give anybody a good seven-game series. Where Gordon helps is that he can cover up the defensive deficiencies of Murray. They will be hoping “Bubble Murray” returns, and if he does the Nuggets would be better off letting him worry about scoring, while Gordon picks up the defensive duties.
It is not talked about often, but Gordon actually does a decent job of guarding somebody like James as well. He has routinely guarded the opponent’s best player when with the Magic for a couple of years now, and that experience will stand to him in Denver. The Magic wanted and needed Gordon to be a franchise cornerstone, and he wasn’t. The Nuggets don’t, and it feels like both player and team will benefit from that being the case.