Orlando Magic: They won every major trade last season
By Luke Duffy
Trades the Orlando Magic won: 2. Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets
If the Vucevic deal was a home run, then how good was offloading Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets? The player who always seemed like he was on the cusp of putting something special together when with the Magic, but never really did. In defense of Gordon however, he was the team’s best defender when he was in Florida.
That gets you few nationwide plaudits, especially in a small market, but it was the reason the Nuggets felt comfortable letting R.J. Hampton, Gary Harris and even a protected first-round pick in 2025 go for his services. Gordon’s defensive abilities got much more credit right away in Denver, yet when the postseason rolled around, he failed to help elevate his team when they needed it.
If getting Hampton and possibly a first-round pick was worth the deal, and it was, then what happened next made it a brilliant piece of business. The Nuggets recently gave Gordon a new four-year, $92 million contract. The kind of deal that they had to make, as they are close to winning a championship when Jamal Murray returns from injury to go alongside Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr.
Can you imagine the absolute civil war that would have taken place had the Magic given Gordon that kind of money? That’s exactly what they would have been in line to do this offseason if they had not made the trade before the deadline. It even feels like a tough one for the Nuggets to swallow, but it was unthinkable from the Magic’s perspective.
Instead, they got off giving Gordon money, have a player in Hampton who could yet be the perfect backcourt complement to his good friend Suggs, and there’s a possible pick in the future. Harris makes a ton of money ($20 million this coming season) but is an unrestricted free agent next summer. It is unlikely the Magic can trade him to turn him into anything, but stranger things have happened.
Gordon had career averages in Orlando of 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds on 32.1 percent shooting from deep in nearly seven years there. On reflection, it all seems a bit underwhelming. It was apparent quickly that he was never going to be the guy, even when fans willed him to be. Gordon wasn’t even brilliant being the second or third option but figures to fit that role more comfortably around better players. To move him, not pay him and get something back was massive.