Orlando Magic: Aaron Gordon should be a point forward

The Orlando Magic can diminish the notion that they need a point guard by using Aaron Gordon as a  point forward because he has been known as player with terrific passing ability

"” D.J. Augustin is doing a suitable job this season, but if the Magic want to take a step forward now, or in the future, then they need to invest in one.”"

Chris Barnewall of Uproxx.com said this in regards to how the lack of a premier starting point guard is stunning the growth of the Orlando Magic. However, one could argue that the team doesn’t need to invest in a point guard as they can solve the problem internally by putting Aaron Gordon in the point forward role.

Gordon was known for having a terrific passing ability as he came up through the amateur ranks. In fact, Jonathan Givony formerly of DraftExpress was impressed by Gordon’s passing skills during a team USA U19 training camp five years ago:

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"Aaron “impressed again and again with his terrific passing ability. He’s an extremely unselfish player who reads the floor well and finds the open man consistently for easy baskets”."

Aaron Gordon has continued to exhibit a terrific passing ability in the NBA when he is given a significant amount of touches. For instance, Gordon touched the ball 78 times during a home game versus the Phoenix Suns last season.

The 78 touches allowed Gordon to get a career-high eight assists to go along with 29 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes played.

One of those eight assists came early in the third quarter.

Unfortunately, the 78 touches were an aberration as he has averaged 42.6  ( 22.4 + 38.5 + 38.7 + 59.9 + 53.7/5) over 4-plus seasons in the league. The limited touches have been the primary catalysts behind him only averaging 11.8 points, six rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for his career.

If Orlando significantly increased his touches, they would have to make some changes to their offensive system. The Magic currently feature a heavy dose of the post up as they rank 9th in the league averaging 12.3 per game.

One example of this is when Augustin dribbles the basketball to the 3-point line and passes it to Gordon who is standing at the elbow. Gordon immediately passes the ball to Nikola Vucevic who is posting up near the semicircle for a jump hook.

However, if Gordon becomes a point forward, head coach Steve Clifford would have to implement aspects of the LeBron offense where Gordon is the primary ball handler and is being surrounded by the team’s best shooters.

For example, he can dribble the ball to the 3-point line and analyzes the entire defense. If one of the defenders is sagging off a shooter, he can pass the basketball to the shooter for an open 3-pointer.

On the other hand, if everyone stays home, he can study everything about his defender to determine the next course of action. If the defender decides to sag off of him, Gordon can take the open jumper. But, if the defender played him tight, he can attempt to drive towards the basket for a score, to draw a foul or attract a double team.

The possible change would diminish the perception of the team needing a point guard as he has already shown that he is capable of being a good playmaker with a large number of touches.