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Arizona Wildcats one-and-done forward Aaron Gordon has been selected fourth overall in the NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. The Magic were right up at the top of our list of the teams Gordon would fit well on.
The Magic own the fourth and 12th picks in the draft, and it would be an interesting move if they picked Gordon. While he's certainly talented enough to join a young core that includes former USC center Nikola Vucevic and last year's second round pick, Victor Oladipo, Orlando already has talented young combo forwards in Maurice Harkless and Tobias Harris, the latter of whom is the cousin of Channing Frye. If the Magic drafted Gordon, it might indicate they don't like what they see in the development of one or both of Harkless and Harris.
Gordon is not exactly an offensive threat, but as talked about by these anonymous scouts, everything else that he brings to the table is what has made him such a valuable commodity this year.
Here's why I like Gordon, and it's rare for me (my teams have always been about shooting; you need it to win). It's simple: Gordon impacts the game without being a shooter. It's hard to do that. He knows 100 percent what he is. Jabari Parker will take a million bad shots; Gordon already knows he can't take them.
Gordon's athleticism really shined through at the NBA Combine, where he broke the vertical jump along with doing other ridiculous things.
We broke down his strengths and weaknesses in full here, but just take a look at a few of the excerpts, which pretty much sums up how his game looked during his only year at Arizona.
ATHLETICISM (STRENGTH):
Gordon has a quick second and third jump, can run the floor like a gazelle and leap with them best of them. At 6-foot-9 in shoes and 220 pounds, he will be capable of hanging with small forwards in the NBA immediately, and as the youngest player in the draft could still add a bit of weight down the line, allowing him to play the power forward spot more.
SCORING MENTALITY (WEAKNESS):
Gordon struggled to even look for his shot as opponents in Pac-12 play quite literally played Gordon from the painted area, even if he was standing at the three-point line. Gordon's lack of moves on drives and his lack of creativeness in his scoring ability could be seen as a major flaw. He lacks post moves and aside from facing up and jumping over opponents does not have the ability or the feel to score in any way other than spotting up.
CHARACTER (STRENGTH):
Considered a team-first player with high character. He was almost forced to become a playmaker on a Wildcats' team that needed more assertiveness, especially in the postseason.
FOUL SHOOTING (WEAKNESS):
The most obvious knock on Gordon was his shot, especially at the foul stripe. The forward hit an abysmal 42 percent from the line despite reportedly being a near-80-percent shooter in practice -- the mental aspect of the percentage might be bigger than his shooting mechanics.
As an aside, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver went into the one-and-done rule with Bonnie Bernstein on Campus Insiders, and why he wants to get rid of it.