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The Orlando Magic are “quietly gauging” this year's trade market for star forward Aaron Gordon, as the new regime of president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond have been actively eyeing opportunities prior to this trade deadline, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
Gordon is eligible for restricted free agency this summer, which leads to this front office doing their due diligence and exploring potential avenues that can benefit the franchise in the long run. The uber-athletic 6-foot-9 forward has seen a considerable dip in his scoring this past month, logging only three games over 20 points scored in January.
The air-defying Arizona product is still having by far the best season of his career with 18.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and the Magic front office could be looking to capitalize on what's left of his rookie deal and reap whatever gains are possible from an exchange. Gordon has missed the last two games with a hip injury.
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The Magic had previously entered discussions with the Detroit Pistons in hopes to deal guard/forward Evan Fournier, but talks stalled and the Pistons eventually shipped Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris to the L.A. Clippers, according to Scotto. Though it’s worthy to note that Orlando coveted Stanley Johnson; who recently had a career-high 26 points as a starter, as part of those trade talks.
Orlando could also make a potential coaching change at the end of the season, as the duo of Weltman and Hammond inherited coach Frank Vogel when they arrived over the summer.
