Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown with David Baumann: Aaron Gordon's Future with Magic a Growing Concern?

Things can't get much worse for the Orlando Magic, losers in 26 of their last 30 games.

But I've thought of one way things could get much, much worse.

And that would be IF Aaron Gordon wants no part of this mess anymore.

Welcome to the Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.

I recently posted a poll on Twitter asking fans who they think is "untouchable."

Take a look at the nearly unanimous answer below:

Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown: Orlando Magic May Lose More Than Season

These 487 fans clearly recognize that Gordon is the key player who the Magic need to build around.

However, the new Magic front office of Jeff Weltman (President of Basketball Operations) and John Hammond (General Manager) did not offer Gordon an extension at the October deadline.

That means Gordon will become a restricted free agent in the offseason.

It also means the Magic get the opportunity to match any offer he gets next July.

How much money could he make?

According to HoopsHype's Frank Urbina, rival teams could offer Gordon a four-year, $106M contract in July.

But since Orlando owns Gordon's "Bird Rights," the Magic can offer Gordon a maximum deal that increases by 8% for each year the contract spans -- a financial advantage over the competition.

For example, Joel Embiid, who was picked one spot ahead of Gordon in the 2014 NBA Draft, got the max five-year, $148M extension with Philadelphia prior to the October extension deadline.

Only Philadelphia could have given Embiid that much money.

Is Gordon worth that?

Maybe!

Here's a 2018 side-by-side statistical comparison of the two, via HeroSports.com.

Now, Gordon, prior to this season, had never proven himself as a "shooter," which limited his offensive repertoire.

But that's all changed.

Gordon is shooting a career-best 37% from three-point range this season, after never shooting better than 29% in a single season.

He's one of the NBA's most improved players.

Even his ball handling is much better.

The only issue I see that could get in the way of the Magic keeping Gordon around long-term... is whether Gordon actually wants to be here.

And if you think it doesn't matter whether or not he wants to play in Orlando, you're wrong.

Sure, he'll be obligated by a contract, but it can become messy.

This is a player's league.

If a player doesn't want to play in a certain city, he can easily force the team's hand.

We've seen it time and time again.

From Shaq from the Lakers to the Heat... to Vince Carter from the Raptors to the Nets... to Carmelo from the Nuggets to the Knicks... to Barkley from the Sixers to the Suns.

Let's not be fools.

We saw it coming right here in our backyard with Dwight Howard six years ago.

The Magic franchise hasn't recovered since Dwight forced his way out.

So do we have any reason to believe Gordon doesn't want to be here?

No, not directly from him, not whatsoever.

To my knowledge, Gordon hasn't said anything to give me pause. He's a pretty even-keeled, positive person.

But let's look at the big picture.

Gordon never experienced a winning season in his three-plus years here, and certainly won't experience it now.

There's really no end in sight to the rebuilding process.

He's had three different coaches.

He's had two different front offices.

And again, this new executive team wasn't able to come to an extension agreement with him prior to the October deadline.

Could Gordon hold a grudge on that?

Possibly!

So if there is an issue there that we might not know about... and the Magic are pressured into unloading him... they better get significant value in return.

The Magic cannot afford to let Gordon become the next Victor Oladipo or Tobias Harris... a budding young talent that thrives elsewhere.

But let's step back for a moment.

I think the only thing fans can do right now is hope Gordon sees the big picture beyond this season and likes what he sees.

The Magic, as things stand now, could have one of the top two picks in the coming NBA Draft.

Hopefully, Gordon is craving the opportunity of playing with top prospects such as Luka Doncic, Trae Young, DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III.

Besides the draft, only 10 teams have less money committed to the 2018-19 season than the Magic's $78.2M, according to HoopsHype.

That means the Magic can hopefully add some much better talent during the coming free agency period.

So to sum up, there's no reason to panic about Gordon's future in Orlando... not yet anyway.

David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and can be heard Tuesdays from 7-9pm on EK Sports, on 96.9 The Game FM. He can be seen Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30pm on Spectrum Sports 360's Face Off segment on Central Florida News 13, channel 13 and 1013.

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