This Orlando Magic season hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. Last year, their top six rotation players (Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic, DJ Augustin, Jonathan Isaac, and Terrence Ross) missed a total of 14 games; this year, those same six players have missed 66 games between them, with 21 games still left to play. However, there are a few positives to Orlando’s season so far, including: Markelle Fultz’ breakout, Evan Fournier’s initial shooting spark, Mo Bamba’s development, Michael Carter-Williams’ hustle, and Jonathan Isaac’s All-Defensive worthy half-season.

Even before Isaac’s likely season-ending injury, though, something about the Magic’s offense felt off. Orlando’s pace is slow, grinding out possessions to minimize the difference in talent. Head Coach Steve Clifford’s ideology focuses on the four factors by reducing possessions, pace, and turnovers for his teams to mitigate as many mistakes as possible; Clifford teams don’t beat themselves. This extreme lean into safety might be holding back some of Orlando’s personnel from reaching their ceiling. Orlando’s young core (Fultz, Gordon, Bamba, Isaac) would all benefit from the easy shots that come from transition due to playing at a faster pace. Vucevic might be the only player on the roster who benefits from this commitment to safety; there’s a chance Clifford’s affinity for playing through Vucevic in the high-post impacts the decision to keep the pace at full-tortoise. The Magic’s roster in the long-term is built for Markelle to push the pace with everyone else filing in as secondary creators and off-ball finishers; but, in the short-term, Orlando relies on a Fournier-Vucevic pick-and-roll in the half-court to create the majority of its offense.

Aaron Gordon has proven his flexibility, sacrificing his ideal role for what’s best for the team, usually guarding the opposing team’s best 2–4 wing on one end of the floor while waiting around the perimeter on the other. When called upon, Aaron has shown the capability for an expanded role. On the block, he will post-up mismatches, find cutters, and create shot opportunities for himself and teammates by drawing fouls and double-teams. AG’s obviously a monster in transition; he might be less of a traditional wing iso scorer and more of a modern four with the ability to switch 1–5 and high proficiency in finishing, playmaking, post play, roll gravity, and off-ball movement.

If he’s standing role-less on the wing, expected to create for himself against quicker wings, AG might not look his best; when played at the right position, in the right role, with complementary personnel surrounding him, Aaron Gordon’s high-octane game comes to light. When a player is able to handle different roles from possession to possession without hurting his team in any area, he gives his team a lot of options. Offensively speaking, one might compare him to a smaller Blake Griffin, not only due to his leaping ability, but due to the range of roles he can handle by the possession, whether it be as an off-ball finisher vs a low-post creator, or as a P&R ball-handler vs P&R roll-man. Ideally, Aaron would develop into a modern version of Shawn Marion; a do-it-all, oversized wing who can shut down multiple positions, score and create as a secondary playmaker, while dominating the off-ball roles of finishing, catch-and-shooting, and rim-rolling. With his versatility as a defender and variety of weapons on offense, Aaron Gordon is Orlando’s Swish-Army Knife.

Here’s a look at Aaron Gordon’s progress throughout his career as an outside shooter compared to Blake Griffin and Shawn Marion, via DARKO:

There’s good news and bad news for the Orlando Magic. On the one hand, they employ a player in Aaron Gordon who rates above average or better in every skill category, according to The BBall Index’s Talent Grades; on the other hand, his worst attributes appear to involve the perimeter, where Orlando has played him his entire career. Perhaps The Magic should look to find more minutes for Aaron Gordon at the four, even though he’s shown the ability to guard multiple positions.

Aaron Gordon’s BBall Index Talent Grade Percentiles

via The BBall Index

(among all players, as of 2/16)

95.5% (A) Finishing

94.8% (A) D-Rebounding

89.6% (A-) Playmaking

86.3% (A-) Roll Gravity

82.2% (A-) Post Play

81.3% (A-) Off-Ball Movement

78.1% (B+) O-Rebounding

68.7% (B) Interior Defense

57.4% (C+) One on One

53.8% (C+) Perimeter Shooting

57.3% (C ) Perimeter Defense

Categorizing Aaron Gordon as a “Glue Guy” due to his offensive role, the following graph compares Aaron Gordon’s PIPM to other Power Forwards considered “Glue Guys” by The BBall Index’s Talent Grades:

(among PFs with > 200 MIN)

Aaron Gordon joins Giannis Antetokoumnpo as the only two Power Forwards with talent grades of C- or better in every skill category; this graph compares the PIPM values of all players who meet that standard: