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Why is everyone down on Aaron Gordon?

framer

framer

Well-Known Member
Not going to sort through 500 some odd pages, but besides that fact that there may be some that others covet more, why is everyone down on Aaron Gordon. I went and watched him play at McKale Center and I was very impressed with what I saw, outside of foul shooting. He seems to have very good court vision and has enough speed and handles to play small if he needs to (which Derrick Williams can't) but also can go inside and dominate. At halftime it appeared that Coach Miller made an adjustment because Arizona was wild, shooting and rebounding horribly inside against a disciplined Washington gameplan. In the second half, following Miller's adjustments, Gordon got 10 rebounds and keyed the scoring burst that pushed Arizona ahead for good, fouling out almost the entirety of Washington's big men. That's pretty cerebral stuff for a freshman.
He finished the game 8 for 11 for 18 points (the two free throws he actually hit were an adventure.) He is easily the best player on the best team (at the moment) in college ball as a freshman. I just don't see what screams "bust" about him other than the unearned association with Derrick Williams. If we were to somehow end up with him, I don't get the crying.
So, enlighten me.
 
I think he could be a nice 4 next to Favors at 5 if we moved to a much more up-tempo system, but I'm wary of taking a slightly undersized 4 who isn't a great shooter. I don't think it's the D-will association that's hurting him, it's the tweener association.
 
mhindy said:
I think he could be a nice 4 next to Favors at 5 if we moved to a much more up-tempo system, but I'm wary of taking a slightly undersized 4 who isn't a great shooter. I don't think it's the D-will association that's hurting him, it's the tweener association.
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It's the tweener label.

Having said that, most here still have him ranked around #7.
 
IMO he brings ak47 like impact. but gordon's upside is defiitely higher than ak47. hustle guy, knows how to play team D, knows how to use his length, and just very unselfish guy. he is a joakim noah of PF position and that's not actually that bad for #7-#10 overall pick.

i wouldn't mind him at #8 ish pick.
 
He would definitely be a top 5 guy in a normal draft. My guess is he would have gone #1 last year FWIW.
 
spycam1 said:
It's the tweener label.

Having said that, most here still have him ranked around #7.
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This.
Derrick williams changed the game for me with gordon type guys... also terrence jones
 
Not that I know anything, but NBAdraft.net has him coming in at 19. Might be worth the warriors pick.

nbadraft.net had me at a no no with this line:

His shooting ability is troublesome. He shoots roughly 50% from the FT line and has no consistency outside of the paint
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For me its the 45 % free throw shooting. He's doing OK from 3, but don't think it will translate to the NBA as he only takes 1.3 a game, the line is further, and he is so bad at FT. I don't know if he's a SF in the NBA, and he's on the small side for a PF. He's definitely athletic though. I think there are just so many other great players that don't have the question marks he does, so people are scared to take him. I think he is a 7-10 pick, and will go to a team that is willing to take a chance on his upside.
 
From the people on the inside I have spoken with he regularly shoots about 75% from the line in the practice facility and spends a lot of time after practice just on his free throws. Evidently it is a mental thing and not a mechanics issue. Since he is just 19, it can probably be fixed. The things that stood out to me that I didn't know beforehand were his court vision, he knows what is going on around him and can see the court well and that he seems to follow what Miller tells him to do exactly. I remember watching a few games live with Lute and Buddinger and you could tell that Buddinger was completely brain dead and had no idea where he was supposed to be at any given time. Surprised he made it as far as he did in the NBA. Probably one of the things that drove Lute into retirement.
 
I'm not down on Gordon, it's just that most on the board want to talk top 3 picks and I don't think he's in that conversation.
I really like Gordon around 7/8.. that doesnt make me down on him.. I don't feel...
 
I think people are cautious hyping guys playing defense in high school and college. Don't know if it indeed does not translate. But effort, BBIQ and hard work translate. So I'm very positive about Aaron. He's the youngest guy to enter next year's draft and he'll have plenty of time to figure out his offense that doesn't come out of transition and crashing the boards. Almost a full year younger than Randle for example...
I think Griffin's incapability to defend and lack of team success leads people to prejudice explosive leaping Power Forwards. Josh Smith doesn't help either...
 
PKM said:
Y u hate Randle?
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I just say he's 1 year older and has less time to grow probably. It's an individual process, but in the big picture you take averages and you hit certain peaks at certain ages with a certain probability.
I like Randle, he'll be alrite. So many areas to impact a game in the future(we know he's only allowed to post up at Kentucky, won't hurt to work on this part for his transition) and he basically can decide if he wants to go slim with core strength or big and chubby using weight to push people and clog space.
 
Once again.. he doesn't post up as much as he does attack from the perimeter. Live dat lie doe.
 
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