Aaron Gordon has taken a major step up this season.
Every offseason, the front office of the Orlando Magic leaves us laughing with whatever moves they made in an attempt to better their roster. I remember two summers ago me and a close friend of mine burst into laughter after hearing Orlando signed Bismack Biyombo and laughed even harder when we realized it was because of one 26 rebound game he had in the playoffs.
However, with the Magic holding down the third seed in the eastern conference, GM John Hammond is making me eat those words. At 6 and 4, everything that was a problem last season for the Magic seems to have evaporated. Aaron Gordon can shoot, Nikola Vucevic looks like an all-star and their point guards finally look competent, but will this last? In 2016 the Magic got off to a 19 and 13 start but flopped in the latter half of the season, which means this could just be another disappointing season.
Like the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando has attempted to build a positionless team with hyper-athletic players who can play every position, and they are starting to find success with this approach. The Bucks are built around Giannis Antetokounmpo who is one of the most athletic and expendable players in the league and have been trying to add more versions of Giannas, at each position.
The Magic are trying to do the same thing but don’t have a defined superstar yet, but they are hoping that player will be 2014 fourth overall pick, Aaron Gordon. Gordon has shown tons of potential in being the player the Magic need moving forward. Much of the reason Orlando has chosen this approach is because of their current GM, John Hammond, was the previous Bucks general manager. Hammond bringing over the same style of basketball was very much expected when he was signed in May 2017. Drafting Jonathan Isaac, an uber-athletic player out of Florida State, 6th overall. Isaac is a very raw prospect but has a ton of upside if it works out.
The Magic are a huge surprise considering their previous record, but with all of their players stepping up the Magic could be an organization set for the future.
