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Revisiting Aaron Gordon

jazzrule

jazzrule

Well-Known Member
I was still interested in Aaron Gordon as many posters think he is the pick for us at 5. Just thought I would check out how many mock drafts saw him.

NBAdraft.net
10
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif
*Philadelphia"> *Philadelphia
Aaron Gordon
6-9
220
PF
Arizona
Fr.

ESPN Chad Fords Big Board (could not see mock draft as I am not an insider)
[TABLE="width: 298"]
[TR]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]Aaron Gordon
[/TD]
[TD]PF
[/TD]
[TD]Arizona
[/TD]
[TD]
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.gif

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Draft stock dropping

CBSSports
2 have Aaron Gordon going 6[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Celtics and one has him going 8[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Kings

WalterFootballl.com
5[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Jazz

NBAdraftroom.com
6[SUP]th[/SUP] to Celtics

MyNBAdraft.com
6[SUP]th[/SUP] to Celtics

Draft Express
10[SUP]th[/SUP] to 76s

Draftsite.com
5[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Jazz

Hoops Addict
8[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Kings

isportsweb.com
8[SUP]th[/SUP] to Kings
Prospect Central
8[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Kings

Hoops Hype
10. Aaron Gordon PHI Power Forward / 6-9ArizonaFreshman12.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg
Scouts point to Gordon's age, he is very young for his grade, as a selling point for his potential. Despite being a tweener with limited offensive skills, he's an elite-level leaper with a tireless motor. He had a solid freshman season providing energy to Arizonza. He has impressed teams in interviews and has proven himself as a focused, team-oriented player. He made an excellent impression on scouts last summer winning MVP of the Under 19 Championships in Prague.

He started out the season determined to turn himself into a small forward, but it is apparent that his future is as a 4. His main weakness is very concerning. To be blunt, his jump shot is broken (similar to MKG) and while it can look solid in 1-on-0 situations, the mechanics break down when he is forced to shoot it within the speed of a game situation. While some envision a future star at the next level, look for Gordon to ultimately become an excellent defensive oriented, energy role player as a small 4.
- See more at: https://hoopshype.com/draft.htm#sthash.5gCFFDJN.dpuf

OK this is how many draft sites see Aaron Gordon……….from 5[SUP]th[/SUP] to 10[SUP]th[/SUP] in the draft. Hoopshype is how I see him. I know many posters see him as a small forward for the Jazz, but it does not look good for him being the Jazz pick or him being a small foward.
 
The ultimate weakness of these draft projections is that once you get beyond the obvious, no-brainer picks, you fall into smokescreen obfuscation. It has been my experience that these people make their lists based off "chatter" rather than by any real scouting. Once a player goes quiet on the "chatter" front, they drop in the rankings. The reality is that once somebody drafting 5 and on falls in love with a player, the LAST thing they are going to do is talk about it, especially if they are privy to information or workouts that other teams may not have. Oftentimes you will have clubs "leak" information in order to raise the stock of a player that they have no real interest in. That is why there are so many "surprises" come draft day.
The three players that I think people are remaining mum on are Randall, Gordon, and Saric. Those guys are going to be picked before they are projected. I also believe that much is being made of Vonleh, and too publically for him to slip into the top 4. It wouldn't surprise me to see him slide, because he was more of a smokescreen creation. I'm on the fence if Exum also falls into this category as well.
As far as the HoopsHype "evaluation" goes, it is crap. Look at the shot of MKG. It is COMPLETELY broken, comically so. See:
71913_MKG.jpg

Here is Gordon's shot:
Aaron+Gordon+New+Mexico+State+v+Arizona+Iaj5NlVj0LBl.jpg

Those really aren't comparable.
And for reference, here is McBucket's shot:
screen-shot-2013-02-17-at-10-08-42-am.png


And of Course Gordon can play the 3. He excelled there at Arizona before their Power Forward was injured and Gordon had to move over. He was also shooting over 40% from 3 while playing up high. Generally position is determined by who you can defend and Gordon can defend SF's without any issue. It would be better if he shot a little more accurately from midrange as a SF, but that will not be insurmountable as it is for MKG. Hoopshype hasn't really given us a reason to peg Gordon as a small power forward other than claiming he is MKG. I can get that type of vacuous assessments from people on THIS site without the veneer of being an "expert."
 
I'm with framer in that I think chatter is pushing Vonleh up and Gordon down. I think Ainge takes Gordon @ 6 if he is there and would really like to see us take Vonleh.
 
jazzrule said:
I was still interested in Aaron Gordon as many posters think he is the pick for us at 5. Just thought I would check out how many mock drafts saw him.

NBAdraft.net
10
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif
*Philadelphia"> *Philadelphia
Aaron Gordon
6-9
220
PF
Arizona
Fr.

ESPN Chad Fords Big Board (could not see mock draft as I am not an insider)
[TABLE="width: 298"]
[TR]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]Aaron Gordon
[/TD]
[TD]PF
[/TD]
[TD]Arizona
[/TD]
[TD]
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.gif

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Draft stock dropping

CBSSports
2 have Aaron Gordon going 6[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Celtics and one has him going 8[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Kings

WalterFootballl.com
5[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Jazz

NBAdraftroom.com
6[SUP]th[/SUP] to Celtics

MyNBAdraft.com
6[SUP]th[/SUP] to Celtics

Draft Express
10[SUP]th[/SUP] to 76s

Draftsite.com
5[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Jazz

Hoops Addict
8[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Kings

isportsweb.com
8[SUP]th[/SUP] to Kings
Prospect Central
8[SUP]th[/SUP] to the Kings

Hoops Hype
10. Aaron Gordon PHI Power Forward / 6-9ArizonaFreshman12.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg
Scouts point to Gordon's age, he is very young for his grade, as a selling point for his potential. Despite being a tweener with limited offensive skills, he's an elite-level leaper with a tireless motor. He had a solid freshman season providing energy to Arizonza. He has impressed teams in interviews and has proven himself as a focused, team-oriented player. He made an excellent impression on scouts last summer winning MVP of the Under 19 Championships in Prague.

He started out the season determined to turn himself into a small forward, but it is apparent that his future is as a 4. His main weakness is very concerning. To be blunt, his jump shot is broken (similar to MKG) and while it can look solid in 1-on-0 situations, the mechanics break down when he is forced to shoot it within the speed of a game situation. While some envision a future star at the next level, look for Gordon to ultimately become an excellent defensive oriented, energy role player as a small 4.
- See more at: https://hoopshype.com/draft.htm#sthash.5gCFFDJN.dpuf

OK this is how many draft sites see Aaron Gordon……….from 5[SUP]th[/SUP] to 10[SUP]th[/SUP] in the draft. Hoopshype is how I see him. I know many posters see him as a small forward for the Jazz, but it does not look good for him being the Jazz pick or him being a small foward.
Click to expand...


When Gordon's agency hosted some scouts to watch his workout he apparently did very well and showed some shooting consistency there. I heard via others that Boston in particular where very high on him. Bunch of stuff hit yesterday that Ainge is now locked on Gordon.

I don't think the Jazz draft him. My guess is they have Vonleh higher on the board, but are hoping Exum slips.
 
phippsj said:
When Gordon's agency hosted some scouts to watch his workout he apparently did very well and showed some shooting consistency there. I heard via others that Boston in particular where very high on him. Bunch of stuff hit yesterday that Ainge is now locked on Gordon.

I don't think the Jazz draft him. My guess is they have Vonleh higher on the board, but are hoping Exum slips.
Click to expand...

Well the scouting report did say his shot looks good 1 on 0, but when he needs to shoot at game speed it's crap. So it shouldn't be big news that he shot well in a workout, but in games, it's basically broken. To me that report is spot on, and exactly how I see him, and to say chatter has everything to do with him falling or anyone for that matter is utterly none sense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm not sure what there is to smokescreen, really.

Vonleh has massive potential as a 2 way player, can likely come right in and rebound, will eventually get the opportunity to stretch the floor to work with a low post big or rim protector, wingspan/hand size, good handles for a big etc etc. His knock is he's going to be somewhat of a project and he's likely not much of a leader. Or at least not vocally, at this stage.

Gordon is what he is going to be, IMO, in a lot of ways. Some very good and some very bad. The kid is a freak athlete, is a highlight reel above the rim, will be a really good defender etc. Obviously where he falls short is a real roll offensively outside of putbacks and hustle plays. And then there's his FT%. A lot of people that like him and want him on the Jazz say "I think he can fix that". I can think of very few examples of guys coming into the league and fixing something like that. And if they did, they didn't start as bad as AG is. And this isn't college. If it's a mental thing, how is an NBA stadium and pressure going to ease that.......82 games a season?


I like AG, I think he'd be fun to watch. I just don't like him anywhere near 5, and that's not a smokescreen, it's reality.
 
sorry yall, i cannot shake the memory of watching him go 2-11 from the FT line vs Oregon. I'd also say in that particular game his FT shooting was so bad it prevented him from looking for his offense much.

to me, AG at 5 clearly is a reach.

I'm not buying that line of prepared shtick about how he's synchronized his FT shooting with his 3pt shot and mid-range jumper.

I would've loved to hear this follow-up question asked "why didnt you try that before?"

he didn't exactly appear too confident when he delivered that line at the combine either. If you go back any dissect his FT shooting on its own, you will surely come back concerned.. he really only shot better than .500 from the line in a handful of games, and had at least a handful of disastrous FT' shooting games
 
I don't get why people are so enamored with Aaron Gordon. He's a great athlete, no doubt about it. But his offensive game isn't very good and his defense is great because he has superior athletic ability to most players in college, will this translate to the NBA where the athletic difference is much smaller? I also question how strong he is mentally (see Arizona at Utah game in mid February).

He would be a good risk to take late in the lottery, but not at 5.
 
Markusj said:
I don't get why people are so enamored with Aaron Gordon.
Click to expand...

I got enamored with gordon cause i watched him play in a few games and i was very impressed by him.
 
"The Jazz should use the asset that they acquired through having the most miserable season in 30 years to acquire a guy that no one has said can or likely will be able to score a basketball on his own or help others to, in a draft where players that are projected to be able to play basketball will still be on the board. Because Aaron Gordon can jump and run."

-morons
 
Bodhi said:
I'm not sure what there is to smokescreen, really.

Vonleh has massive potential as a 2 way player, can likely come right in and rebound, will eventually get the opportunity to stretch the floor to work with a low post big or rim protector, wingspan/hand size, good handles for a big etc etc. His knock is he's going to be somewhat of a project and he's likely not much of a leader. Or at least not vocally, at this stage.

Gordon is what he is going to be, IMO, in a lot of ways. Some very good and some very bad. The kid is a freak athlete, is a highlight reel above the rim, will be a really good defender etc. Obviously where he falls short is a real roll offensively outside of putbacks and hustle plays. And then there's his FT%. A lot of people that like him and want him on the Jazz say "I think he can fix that". I can think of very few examples of guys coming into the league and fixing something like that. And if they did, they didn't start as bad as AG is. And this isn't college. If it's a mental thing, how is an NBA stadium and pressure going to ease that.......82 games a season?


I like AG, I think he'd be fun to watch. I just don't like him anywhere near 5, and that's not a smokescreen, it's reality.
Click to expand...

See my avatar!
 
fishonjazz said:
I got enamored with gordon cause i watched him play in a few games and i was very impressed by him.
Click to expand...

What was it that made you impressed with him? I watched a dozen + Zona games this season and I'm just not seeing anything that impresses me other then he's a great athlete.
 
Markusj said:
What was it that made you impressed with him? I watched a dozen + Zona games this season and I'm just not seeing anything that impresses me other then he's a great athlete.
Click to expand...

Always in the right place. Good vision. Getting deflections. Always the quickest guy to the loose ball. Played with more energy and higher motor than everyone else on the court. Smart. Unselfish. Good passer. Good defender. Good rebounder. Seemed to be everywhere on the court. Always seemed to be communicating with teammate, telling them and pointing to them where to go (leadership qualities)







Oh ya, and he can jump high too, which is nice
 
homeytennis said:
The Mailman turned himself from a .500 FT shooter his rookie year to a 75% shooter by hard work. Mr. Gordon could do the same.
Click to expand...

Jordan Farmar and Patty Mills turned themselves from mid to low 30's 3pt shooter in college to low 40's in the pros, should we project the same for Tyler Ennis? i dont see how that type of logic holds any weight.

Malone was also in the mid 50's to 60 range FT shooting in college.

Mid 40's is a tier below that, its historically bad. to discount it as an indicator is a total joke. id say mid 40's should almost be hard to do.

Chris Dudley i think is the 2nd worst career FT% player around 44% (2nd to Ben Wallace iirc)

look at Dudley's form...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St8sfKkszZ0

now i could see why someone would jump to the conclusion of well his form isnt that bad, he will improve. But why was his FT shooting that awful.. it's naive to think it was just because of his form, its mental, which to me is a bad sign... to me it looks like his FT shooting is bad enough where it could discourage him a bit.

the way i see it, Aaron Gordon's FT shooting is the closest thing you will find to a Red-flag in this lottery
 
First off, I'm a Vonleh supporter.
But to suggest Gordon's FT shooting can't/won't improve is nonsense. As already cited, some players like Malone improved their percentage immensely. And some didn't (like Shaq). I think AG has already taken the first step by tearing down his form and deciding to shot FT's more in line with how he does FG's. I'd be ok with the Gordon pick, although I think Vonleh is a tier above.
 
I didnt say his FT shooting wont improve, itd be hard not to. I just think its a very ugly indicator for him to have good form and those kind of results, theirs got to be something mental. i worry he feels a bit defeated at the FT line and i worry about if he got off to a bad start from the line the first 10-20 games would it affect him? it certainly will be talked about... and in the 4th quarter i dont see why teams wouldnt hack-a-shaq him.

Also that FT% really makes me question the quality of that 35% 3pt% in college and how it translates to the Pro's. How many players are good or decent 3point shooters but bad from the FT line?
 
Of course his FT shooting CAN improve. A lot of things CAN happen. People citing what IS reality are not the wrong ones.
 
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