Might as well talk draft....

[kekgeek]

Speaking of Darren Wolfson, he notes that the Wolves are showing interest in Aaron Gordon. Welp. That plays into the idea that Gersson Rosas is looking for players that fit his vision and not looking for the best players available.

I can easily see Minnesota acquiring Gordon either before or on draft night and plugging him in the four spot for years to come. That's unsettling to think about for me. It's not that Gordon is a bad player, but he does nothing to make this team considerably better.

I would love to add Gordon! If it is 17 and Johnson for Gordon I'll love it. I think Gordon will be great in a new situation and a place where he can just be a jack of all trades player instead of playing the 3 in Orlando

I think I'd rather draft a talented player at 17 and role with James Johnson.

Think there is a very good shot whoever the Wolves draft won't come close to the player Gordon is

I don't think Aaron Gordon has set that bar very high, honestly. He's very much an average NBA player who doesn't do any one thing better than another. His On/Off numbers don't exactly pop off the page either. There's nothing wrong with being an average NBA player, but I'd rather this franchise not lock themselves into mediocrity at a position when they need better than that.

Also, Gordon played an estimated 90-percent of his minutes at the four last season in Orlando. Still meh. I just don't see it.

He is 1 of 17 players who averaged 14pts 7rebs 3asts per game last year. Only 25 years old still. Can take a rebound and go coast to coast. He has done this with playing out of position. His best PG has been DJ Augustin. Would be our only big body wing on the roster. Shown flashes of very good D. In no way do I think he is a star or will be a star but think he has a good chance at being an elite role player in a different situation

[Monster]

Speaking of Darren Wolfson, he notes that the Wolves are showing interest in Aaron Gordon. Welp. That plays into the idea that Gersson Rosas is looking for players that fit his vision and not looking for the best players available.

I can easily see Minnesota acquiring Gordon either before or on draft night and plugging him in the four spot for years to come. That's unsettling to think about for me. It's not that Gordon is a bad player, but he does nothing to make this team considerably better.

I would love to add Gordon! If it is 17 and Johnson for Gordon I'll love it. I think Gordon will be great in a new situation and a place where he can just be a jack of all trades player instead of playing the 3 in Orlando

I think I'd rather draft a talented player at 17 and role with James Johnson.

Think there is a very good shot whoever the Wolves draft won't come close to the player Gordon is

On Wolfson's podcast Ryan McDonough liked that theoretical move and then said How Gordon's contract went down and he was signed for a few years still. Well he got part of that right. Gordon is signed for this year and next year. That's not that appealing to me because it's not omg before you have to make a decision on him. I do like Gordon and I think he would help the Wolves but I tend to agree with Cam that I might rather Pick a player at 17. It's worth asking much better will Gordon be this season than James Johnson? Maybe Orlando would throw in the #45 2nd rounder. That Probably Doesn't move the needle one way or another it's more about how you feel about Gordon.

Does Gordon even really fit the system the Wolves want to play? He isn't a good 3 point shooter. His assist rate for a guy like him is pretty solid. He does a lot of stuff decently. That has some value but is that really enough? Idk it's hard to say maybe he is better here. He turned 25 in September. We have talked a lot on this board about adding him but it's been a while now.

[Lipoli390]

I don't understand the Wolves interest in Aaron Gordon. I thought the Wolves were all about shooting and spreading the floor. Gordon is a lifetime 32% three-point shooter and 45% FG shooter. Those aren't the numbers of a stretch 4 and 45% FG shooting for a PF is pretty poor. He shot under 31% from behind the arc this past season. And as monster said, the Wolves would have to worry about re-signing him in two years.

It's worth remembering that James Johnson is a pretty good player. He has expiring contract that would make him a valuable trade asset at the trade deadline and, given his age, the Wolves could probably re-sign him to a very reasonable salary next summer if they want to keep him.

I'd rather roll with the 17th pick or leverage that pick with another asset into a higher pick and get a guy like Saddiq Bey or Precious. Trading for Aaron Gordon would be the kind of thing I'd expect from a typical Wolves front office. I'll be disappointed if we end up trading #17 and Johnson for Gordon.

[Wolvesfan21]

I think someone posted this before but Givony has us taking Ball at #1. All we need is another player who can't shoot or play defense.

[Monster]

I don't understand the Wolves interest in Aaron Gordon. I thought the Wolves were all about shooting and spreading the floor. Gordon is a lifetime 32% three-point shooter and 45% FG shooter. Those aren't the numbers of a stretch 4 and 45% FG shooting for a PF is pretty poor. He shot under 31% from behind the arc this past season. And as monster said, the Wolves would have to worry about re-signing him in two years.

It's worth remembering that James Johnson is a pretty good player. He has expiring contract that would make him a valuable trade asset at the trade deadline and, given his age, the Wolves could probably re-sign him to a very reasonable salary next summer if they want to keep him.

I'd rather roll with the 17th pick or leverage that pick with another asset into a higher pick and get a guy like Saddiq Bey or Precious. Trading for Aaron Gordon would be the kind of thing I'd expect from a typical Wolves front office. I'll be disappointed if we end up trading #17 and Johnson for Gordon.

I'll say this about Aaron Gordon after watching some extended game play highlights on him. His ball handling and passing would be well above average for a PF. Basically the Wolves would be replacing James Johnson with a much younger version of James Johnson with Gordon and Obviously Gordon has a higher ceiling than James Johnson.

The question I have is how interested are the Wolves? I think Gordon is a guy I would like to know what it would take to acquire going into the draft if for no other reason to see value around the league. What if Orlando takes something less than you would expect? Part of knowing the value of the draft is finding out what teams value picks according to their players. If the Wolves get to 17 and they like a player better than Gordon they will take him instead. What if Orlando really wants a guy at 33? I can't imagine the Wolves have Gordon as their top priority at this point going into this draft with Wiseman, Toppin Among other talented "bigs" at the top of the draft and then some intriguing combo forwards that may be available at 17 or higher if they could move up. What if they end up with multiple later first round picks in a trade down etc and Orlando would take one of those for Gordon and Johnson? Getting Gordon in a deal like that might make quite a bit of sense.

The Wolves could simply be doing all their homework. It's not hard to see a path for them to have a bunch of 1st round picks in this draft and flipping one for a player like Gordon might be a pretty solid move even if there is a 50% chance he simply walks after 2 years. Lots of options and Gordon is likely only one.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I think someone posted this before but Givony has us taking Ball at #1. All we need is another player who can't shoot or play defense.

Yes, Mostly Ball and some Edwards is what I see from nearly every so-called expert. It's disheartening.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Gordon would certainly be better next season and likely the season after than any rookie we draft over the next couple years, including a guy like Saddiq Bey, who I like a lot.

I do agree Gordon doesn't move the needle much in that he is almost a perfectly average NBA starter. There is literally nothing he is great at and nothing he is outright horrible at. He'd certainly be an upgrade to Juancho defensively and is in the same age-window as KAT and DLO.

I wouldn't jump for joy if we got him, but I can understand the logic.

[Monster]

Vucevic played most of the games last season Starting at C. Isaac started around 30 games with Aaron Gordon. Who was the SF in that case? What about when Gordon played minutes with Aminu? What about the 20 or so games he started with Birch? I'd guess Gordon played SF in one way or another quite a bit last year. I'm not saying that you put him at PF and he will be much better but I think it's worth considering that he did play there a decent amount even last season. 82games is better than nothing but I'd like a better site that has all the lineups broken down for each team if such a thing exists.

[Crazysauce]

I dont get the Aaron Gordon love either. Everyone considered James Johnson mostly a bad contract and compare him similar to value of Gordon.

https://www.landofbasketball.com/player_comparison/aaron_gordon_vs_james_johnson.htm

Jonhson fits our team much better and gives us a toughness we have always lacked along with being a savvy veteran and is much better from 3. Also think he is much rougher defensively. Add that to the fact that we are giving up a 17th pick or any pick for that matter and its a hard no for me. In addition Gordon is paid even more the Johnson is. He is a bad contract which is why Orlando wants to move him. I really dont get the thought here. Really hope we dont take the bait here.

[kekgeek]

Vucevic played most of the games last season Starting at C. Isaac started around 30 games with Aaron Gordon. Who was the SF in that case? What about when Gordon played minutes with Aminu? What about the 20 or so games he started with Birch? I'd guess Gordon played SF in one way or another quite a bit last year. I'm not saying that you put him at PF and he will be much better but I think it's worth considering that he did play there a decent amount even last season. 82games is better than nothing but I'd like a better site that has all the lineups broken down for each team if such a thing exists.

According to cleaningtheglass.com Aaron Gordon played 1535 possessions at SF last year and in this lineups they were terrible -3.2 pts per 100 possession (35th percentile) but when he played PF 2519 possessions the were a positive 1.3 pts per 100 possessions and one of the best offensive lineups in the NBA in the 85th percentile. So a whole 4.5 pts better when he plays PF then SF what is a massive difference.

Gordon had his 1st negative on/off stats in the last 4 years when playing for the magic last but it was just a little bit below league average what was in the 44th percentile.

Over 3 last 3 years the magic have been a plus in pt differential per 100 possessions when Gordon is playing PF.

Obviously Gordon is not perfect, he is for sure no star. But he was compared to James Johnson by this board. Not one time in James Johnsons career did he average more then 14.4 pts, 7.7 rebs or 3.7 asts. Something that Gordon did all last year. Gordon is also just 1 year removed from shooting 40% on his corner threes and he shot 33% last year.

Gordon has played in the playoffs once where his numbers went up across the board including shooting 40% from 3 on 4 attempts per game.

Gordon is not perfect but we need legit NBA starting talent and Gordon is that while the 17th pick has a chance to be good has a way higher chance of being a bench player (last 14 17th overall picks only current NBA starter in Jrue Holiday and only 1 other player played over 25 MPG and that was Schroeder) The time is ticking on Kat time in Minnesota we need legit talented young proven starting talented players.