Trade Two: Hawks Get Aaron Gordon
Why the Magic do it: The Magic, who had been participating in the lottery for seemingly the last 15 years, made the playoffs for the first time since the Dwight Howard days. They’re about to embark on an interesting summer as well, with all-star center Nikola Vucevic hitting unrestricted free agency. The Magic will need to decide if they should throw him a big deal, tying up basically all of their money, or try hitting the reset button once again. This trade could actually work for both, but better with the latter. The drop off after pick 3 is rough in this draft, but it gets even worse around pick 12 or 13, and that 16th pick isn’t likely to help them anytime soon, at least not nearly as the 8th and 10th picks.
Aaron Gordon has quietly been in trade rumors for quite some time, and although he’s coming off his best season, but if they don’t sign Vucevic, and start with Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, and Markelle Fultz, it’s probably going to take quite a bit until they’re competitive again, maybe even until after Gordon’s deal is up.
Why the Hawks do it: Gordon can play small forward, power forward and some small-ball center. He’s starting to shoot the ball from deep at a good rate, and his great defense is something that the Hawks desperately need. He’ll only be 24 next season as well, and has improved every year since being drafted 4th overall. Giving up three picks and a fellow 24-year-old in Bembry is a little steep, but that 16th pick is a nice bonus to go along with the potential of Gordon.
Possibility Ranking: 6/10. I think this one comes down to whether or not the Magic go after Vucevic in the offseason. It doesn’t make sense for them to sign him and then pair him with three rookies instead of the more proven Gordon. The Atlanta Hawks have been a bit hoardy with their picks in the Schlenk era, but could be looking to pull the trigger at a good deal, which this very well could be.