If you didn't think the Denver Nuggets were scary before, you may think that now after they snagged Aaron Gordon.
Denver pulled out what will arguably be remembered as the definitive move of this season's trade deadline by acquiring Gordon from the Orlando Magic. Even more impressively, the Nuggets were able to snag Gordon for what was essentially a bag of chips and some pencils. Denver's Big Three of Jokic, Murray, and Michael Porter, Jr. just added one of the most athletic and potent defensive threats in the league, and only had to let go of RJ Hampton, Gary Harris, and their 2025 1st round pick.
RJ Hampton will sting, as will the production of Gary Harris, but Denver's big three will provide plenty of scoring, and Jokic is as good a primary playmaker as there is in the league.
For the rest of the Western Conference, the Nuggets just planted their flag as the biggest existential threat to the conference's most prominent contenders. For the rest of Aaron Gordon's suitors, though, this trade will be remembered as a solidly depressing reminder of what could have been.
These are the two teams that are experiencing the most severe case of buyer's holdout's remorse.
Boston Celtics
Yikes. For a team that was considered to be a top contender for Aaron Gordon's substantial services just a few days ago, the Celtics really fell out of favor quickly.
Speculation will swirl over this trade about how willing GM Danny Ainge was willing to give up franchise darling and defender du jour Marcus Smart, but the trade just made sense. For a team that has been disappointingly middle-of-the-road this season, most must have been expecting for Ainge to dip into his war chest of assets once more to get some juice back into the TD Garden.
Gordon would have granted the Celtics a caliber of athlete that they haven't had in centuries and a true threat on both sides of the court. He is a clear talent upgrade over Marcus Smart and anyone on the team that is not named Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum. Moreover, for a team that has been struggling in the interior, Gordon could have been an absolute godsend as one of the best small-ball fives in the league.
For a team that seems to just be treading water all of a sudden, the Celtics' front office has played it disturbingly safe this season, and the loss of Aaron Gordon is a testament to that fact.
Los Angeles Lakers
Why in the world were the Los Angeles Lakers going for Kyle Lowry in the first place?
LA was never on the Magic's radar for Aaron Gordon, but by all rights, they should have been. This mistake was more one of omission compared to Boston's error, but it was a mistake nevertheless. If you're LA and you are already over the salary cap, you should at least swing for the fences.
The team had already received calls for Talen Horton-Tucker (at least for a potential Kyle Lowry deal), and should have been willing to part with him in the first place. If they are trying to win now, Lebron James would definitely appreciate a finished product on the roster rather than a raw youngster that still has an entire career ahead of him.
But even if that trade had gone through, this would still be a mistake. LA is already in possession of a dynamic point guard in Dennis Schroder, and if you don't think Schroder is in it to win it, you haven't been paying attention. They could have easily packaged Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, THT, and some ancillary contracts or cash to obtain Aaron Gordon and the corpse of Mo Bamba, and they would have been set for the immediate future.
Gordon would have been great AD insurance, and even with AD there, he would have fit very well alongside AD and Lebron. As a team that likes to get out and run, Gordon would have been an absolute nightmare running alongside the Lakers' pair of stars, either at the rim or flaring out to the arc (37% 3FG).
If the Lakers survive this last leg of the regular season without Lebron and AD, they will still be a threat come to the playoffs. But with or without them, LA's most famous team could have used someone like Aaron Gordon. The money, the pieces, and the interest were all there. Just not him.
If the Lakers end up facing Denver in the playoffs, expect this regret to grow only deeper.
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