11-06-2020, 11:07 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-06-2020, 11:13 AM by KillerLeft.)
(11-06-2020, 10:46 AM)cjeter24 Wrote: The theory on AG is pretty simple. He's always had good offensive metrics in area where Dwight Powell has good metrics like PNR. But he doesn't nearly enough plays for him ran despite getting starter minutes compared to Powell. Powell has way more volume as bench player in those areas.
They basically use AG as a guy to camp out on the perimeter and spot up shoot. And he's about as an effective shooter as Powell but shoots way more 3s a game. In Dallas he would be heavy utilized as a PNR and cutter both of which he consistently has elite #s at in advanced metrics. Like 90th percentile. If Dallas likes Dwight, AG is him on steroids with way higher upside. It's an easy move to make if its so cheap and you do indeed love Powell's game if you are the MBT.
Ok, so I buy all of that, and I can tell you've done your homework on the guy. Here's the counter argument:
Fans tend to love super athletic guys like Gordon, even when they don't do all that well. Now, maybe you're right and Orlando is simply not implementing the player in an ideal way. But, the guys who work there are not morons, they're people whose entire lives revolve around professional basketball. I don't think "they don't know how to use him" should be our default position when he doesn't seem to play as well as we believe he should. I think it's a POSSIBLE explanation, but maybe not the most likely one. I mean, if you've been an exec in Orlando for the past several years, you've kind of been in the Aaron Gordon business, trying desperately to unlock the dude's potential. Their inability to do so is a big reason the franchise isn't in a great place right now.
A more plausible argument that's close to yours would be the glaring absence of a pick and roll ball handler on the roster. For whatever reason, they've really struggled to find a PG there, pretty much since Jameer Nelson signed in Dallas years ago. That is bizarre, for sure, and probably has a negative impact on several of their players.
But in my humble opinion, what we're dealing with in Gordon is a dumb guy. It doesn't get talked about very much, and when it does it's usually framed in a nicer way, but my first thought anytime I see an underperforming NBA player with a lot of athletic ability (the kind that teams covet) is "that guy doesn't get it, does he?"
What got me thinking this way initially was a Don Nelson quote about Raef Lafrentz back in the day. It was something like "for whatever reason, anytime we try to run something for him, he just finds a way to forget how to run the play." I'm paraphrasing from memory, but it was very close to that.
My overall point is that intelligence and focus matter in pro basketball, much like they matter in pro ANYTHING. How do we, as fans, judge this attribute in players? Really tough to do, though I feel pretty strongly that when players we expected big things from don't get the anticipated results (or even the anticipated playing time) that's kind of the smoke that comes from the "not smart enough" fire. Another indicator is when a player starts bouncing around from team to team a lot, though there could also be other reasons for this, obviously.
Look, I clearly don't KNOW this about Gordon, and I could be 100% wrong. But it's interesting that the guy has been getable for 2-3 years now and nobody seems super into bringing him onto a good team. Maybe that's because Orlando has valued him too highly, but idk...I just have a feeling he's not very good.
Having said all of the above, Gordon would certainly be above Tobias Harris on my list, but probably under Gobert, tbh. I believe strongly in my opinion that KP/Gobert is not a fit, but it's undeniable that Gobert is an impact player in the NBA. The same cannot be said for Gordon.