Fansided

NBA Free Agency 2018: 20 best players available

By Micah Wimmer

NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 22: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 22: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 3: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic drives to the basket against the New York Knicks on April 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 3: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic drives to the basket against the New York Knicks on April 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

9. Aaron Gordon

After wowing the basketball watching world with his unbelievable performance in the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest, Aaron Gordon has pretty much just existed in the two and a half seasons since. Part of this is due to spending the first four seasons of his career on the Orlando Magic, a team that hasn’t won more than 35 games, let alone made the Playoffs, since Dwight Howard was traded six years ago. Gordon seemed destined for good things, but while his points per game average has increased each of his four seasons in the league, his career seems to have stagnated otherwise and any belief there was that he could be a future star has largely vanished.

Much of Gordon’s personal stagnation is because of a logjam the Magic have had in the front court over the past few years, an over availability of bigs that even led to Gordon spending the majority of his minutes the 2016-17 season out of place as a small forward.

Nevertheless, Gordon may be the most promising young name on the Magic roster, although that may say more about the sad state of the team than it does about Gordon’s potential. This is not to say that Gordon is incapable of becoming a very good NBA player – he’s still just 22, very athletic, and has showcased a nascent three point shot while also shooting over 70 percent in the restricted area – but that the whole package just hasn’t come together yet. Orlando will likely sign Gordon to pretty big money considering his promise, but it may be more because they have to than because they would especially like to.

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