By John Denton

Nov. 8, 2016

ORLANDO – In an attempt to make the Orlando Magic’s defense more versatile, more athletic and simultaneously longer and stronger, head coach Frank Vogel is considering experimenting with his most versatile, most athletic, most freakishly gifted player in non-traditional spots on the floor.

That player? Why, it’s the 6-foot-9, 220-pound, jumping-jack Aaron Gordon, who could soon be checking everyone from point guards to power forwards and anyone in between in the coming games for the Magic. And when the topic turns to defense, the 21-year-old Gordon has exceptionally lofty expectations for himself.

``Frank can put me on whoever. I’m ready for that challenge,’’ Gordon said. ``Eventually I want to be the Defensive Player of the Year, so it’s one step at a time. To be D-POY is a goal. I don’t think it’s selfish and I’d love to be D-POY. There’s a long way to go from here and there’s a lot that I need to fix technique-wise and mechanically, but Frank’s trust in me means a lot. I’m going to do the best for my team, whoever I guard.’’

Consider what could be about to unfold on Wednesday night: When Orlando (3-4) hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves, Gordon could be guarding two-time dunk champion Zach LaVine one minute and reigning Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns the next. Here’s the kicker: LaVine is a 6-foot-5, cat-quick shooting guard, while the towering Towns is 7-foot and 244 pounds of muscle and skill.

``He’s got that versatility. We haven’t explored that a lot – putting him on (shooting guards) and maybe even (point guards) – but maybe we can at some point, but I think he has that ability,’’ Vogel said of Gordon, who recently smothered Washington standout shooting guard Bradley Beal with his defensive prowess.

``A lot of 6-9 guys don’t have the foot speed to keep those (smaller) guys in front of them, but that’s the difference with him,’’ Vogel continued. ``I believe that he does and we intend to put him on point guards and (shooting) guards at certain times throughout the year, in addition to switching more than I’ve ever done as a coach.’’

Vogel, who is considered something of a defensive guru throughout the NBA because of his past success while coaching in Indiana, could look to mix things up after the Magic were gashed repeatedly on Monday in Chicago. In beating the Magic 112-80 at the United Center, the Bulls made 18 of their first 29 shots, shot better than 55 percent most of the night and got in the lane to score 60 paint points.

``You watch the tape, see why you are getting beat any why things are snowballing,’’ Vogel said, referring to a deficit that swelled to as much as 38 points on Monday night. ``That’s the thing with the blowouts. We’ve been in a few of these games and we let a couple of plays impact other plays and the game snowballs out of control.’’

Unfortunately for the Magic, Gordon’s solid work on the defensive end on Monday night didn’t carry over to his teammates. The player who Gordon opened the game on, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, scored a game-high 20 points, but that number is deceiving. Butler made just five of 13 shots in the game and much of his production came while Orlando’s reserves were on the floor.

Gordon’s defensive assignment, Butler and others throughout the game, made just one of six shots, according to NBA.com’s player tracking data. For the season, the player that Gordon is guarding is shooting just 39.3 percent (22 of 56) – good for the 31st best such number in the NBA over what is a small sample size. What makes that statistic even more impressive is the fact that those players shoot 44.9 percent the rest of the time when Gordon isn’t checking them.

Some of the others with similar defensive numbers as Gordon: Four-time MVP LeBron James (38.5 percent allowed), Utah’s Rudy Gobert (39.2 percent allowed), Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (35.4 percent allowed), Toronto’s DeMarre Carroll (37 percent), Chicago’s Rajon Rondo (36.2 percent allowed) and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry (39.3 percent allowed).

Wherever the Magic need him to play defensively, be it point guard, small forward or shooting guard, Gordon is confident he can get the job done because of his rare set of physical tools.

``I’m long, athletic and I’m not really somebody you want to try and shoot over,’’ Gordon said recently with a chuckle. ``That’s not going to be an easy thing to do for somebody I’m guarding. They’re going to make a few shots here and there, but my job is to play defense to the best of my ability regardless of who I’m guarding.’’

Two weeks ago, when the Magic strung together a fourth-quarter comeback from 22 points back to within two of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the defending champs did everything in their power to free up LeBron James from Gordon’s defensive grasp. That night, James had a highly productive game, but he managed just four shots while being guarded by Gordon – all of them 3-point tries (with two makes).

``A lot of people were saying, `Should we switch?’’’ Gordon said to Cleveland’s screen-and-roll plays. ``I was like, `No, we shouldn’t switch! I’m going to get under (the screen), play him tough and try to make it difficult for him.’’’

This past Saturday night, Vogel made a halftime adjustment to move Gordon from small forward to shooting guard on the defensive end of the floor so that he could go head-to-head with Wizards’ star Bradley Beal. The final result was that Beal did not score in the second quarter, he had just seven second-half points and Orlando won the game 88-86.

On Wednesday, Gordon could find himself matched up against everyone from star small forward Andrew Wiggins to point guard Ricky Rubio to LaVine and even Towns. That’s how talented and versatile, how long and strong and how downright dominant Gordon can be on the defensive end of the floor. It’s an ability that Gordon’s teammates marvel at during games as he switches from one hot scorer to another in games.

``He’s a great individual defender and I think Coach (Vogel) has mentioned that a number of times,’’ said Magic center Bismack Biyombo, someone who knows plenty about defense. ``It’s about all of us playing team defense and that’s what’s really killing us. … But (Gordon) has been tremendous, I have to say. In the end, it’s just about all of us playing great team defense.’’

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.