Aaron Gordon readying to play major role for Magic in 2015-16

By foxsports
Published

Aaron Gordon may have put up quiet numbers as a rookie, especially after sustaining a foot injury midway through the season, but that doesn't mean he's going to be silent in the future.

Gordon became an essential defender for the Magic this past season, and moving forward, that has to continue. Fred Katz writes about just that at Bleacher Report:

Gordon averaged 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17 minutes a night during his first pro season. He's still just 19 years old. There's plenty of room left for development.

(H/t to Fred Katz at Bleacher Report.)

Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

The 6'9", 225-pound Gordon struggled when guarding NBA 4s at the beginning of the year, but he's an energetic, intelligent defender who—unlike many 19-year-olds—came into the league with an immediate grown-man body. Kids like that tend to improve throughout the year. So guess what Gordon did.

By the middle of the season, right before he missed a big chunk of the year with a stress fracture in his foot, he was capably defending shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards—exactly what the Magic envisioned upon selecting him fourth overall in last June's draft.

What separates Gordon from your average young defender (even the good ones) is that he's mostly reserved. You don't see him reaching for steals or jumping passing lanes too often. He's disciplined, a trait most of Arizona coach Sean Miller's products share (a reason Brandon Ashley might be a nice second-round sleeper as a defender in the upcoming draft).

That characteristic is part of what allows him to guard so many positions, and it can legitimately change the makeup of a defense. Such a style in someone of Gordon's size is how you end up with versatile wings like Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green—the best of the NBA's multifaceted, defensive-minded, hybrid forwards.