Trapped in a place he never chose, tried to flee, never found comfort and, by the end, where he was all but forgotten, Eric Gordon had more than an “anywhere-but-New-Orleans” mentality last summer when he became for the first time an unrestricted free agent. Had he lost track of the player he once was and settled into what he had become, Gordon could’ve easily found a new home where he fit, but his desire to actually have his presence felt led him to Houston.

Two months into playing in Mike D’Antoni’s fun-time offense and alongside James Harden, Gordon is bombing 3-pointers at a career-best rate and setting up teammates the way he once did before his career unexpectedly stalled. Gordon didn’t anticipate that all of this excitement would come in the unfamiliar role as the Rockets’ sixth man. But in addition to once again unlocking his offensive arsenal, Gordon’s move to the bench has also turned Houston into the league’s hottest team, having won 10 in a row and 15 of 17 overall.

“Everything,” Gordon told The Vertical about being in Houston, “has been smooth sailing.”

Stephen Curry is the only player with more made three-pointers this season than Gordon (104) and no one has had more consecutive games with at least four 3-pointers than Gordon’s seven. Gordon is taking 8.4 3-pointers per game, nearly two more than his previous high, and looks up to no one in long distance accuracy among players with at least 200 attempts at 44.1 percent. “I’ve always been a good shooter. I mean, always. And now I really get a chance to just prove myself,” Gordon told The Vertical. “It’s a little bit of everything. Style of play, and playing with a guy who can really pass the ball, and like I said, it’s a free-flowing system where everybody is able to get good shots and I’m just taking advantage and knocking down shots.”

The fifth anniversary of the infamous Chris Paul trade to the Los Angeles Clippers passed earlier this month and most of the conversation centered on the David Stern-blocked, three-team trade also involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Rockets. What often gets overlooked is the effect the eventual deal – Paul to the Clippers in exchange for Gordon, Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu, and the 12th pick in the 2012 draft, which turned out to be Austin Rivers – had on the careers of the players shipped to New Orleans. Gordon’s visible disillusionment as he held up his jersey at his introductory news conference remained consistent throughout his five seasons with the organization.

Gordon has found plenty of room to work with the Rockets. (AP) More

Before getting dealt, Gordon was regarded as one of the league’s best young shooting guards, having averaged a career-high 22.3 points with the Clippers and appeared to be headed toward stardom. But New Orleans didn’t work out for Gordon for myriad reasons – injuries, ownership uncertainty and upheaval, coaching changes, roster changes and even a name change that had his career spinning nowhere in particular, like a loose sock in a dryer. “I was just getting better year after year with the Clippers, and then you make a major change with New Orleans, ownership and everything, so you had to start all over,” Gordon told The Vertical. “It was a rough time in New Orleans. Guys can tell you that are still there now. It was a difficult task.”

Gordon injured his knee in his first game with the team formerly known as Hornets, played nine games that season and was looking to escape the moment he hit restricted free agency in the summer of 2012. He signed an offer sheet with Phoenix and begged New Orleans to let him go, only to have the then-Hornets match, unable to lose the most valuable piece in the Paul deal. “The No. 1 plan for me was to stay healthy. And I had always heard Phoenix had a great staff and that was the reason why I signed there. It was nothing against New Orleans, I just thought [Phoenix] had a better training staff for me,” Gordon told The Vertical. “Being a restricted free agent, everybody is going to go through that. This is a system that’s mainly for teams to get a hold of their young star athletes.”

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