Going into this season's Trade Deadline, the Boston Celtics were keen on poaching at least one of Orlando's coveted trade chips. The team could have used any one of Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic, and Aaron Gordon. But instead, Gordon was shipped to the Denver Nuggets, and is now living his best life as a big, rim running wing for a true championship contender in the Western Conference, and one of the NBA's most efficient offenses.

Right now, especially with Jamal Murray out, Gordon is providing the Nuggets with all the added pop that they need on offense and defense, as a borderline All-Star and one of the bounciest players in the league. Gordon has been enjoying his time playing alongside Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter, Jr. with the Nuggets, but did open up about the possibility of playing in Boston:

“Obviously Boston has those guys with (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, and they would have been hell of fun to play with,” he said to the Athletic's Sam Amick. “But I feel like Denver was just the best fit to showcase my well-roundedness as a ballplayer, the defensive aspect and the offensive (aspect) — basically just (the) glue that I can bring. The guy who can fill in, do a little bit of everything on the offensive end and then lock up the other team’s best player, or at least make their night hard, make it a frustrating night for them.”

Well, the Boston Celtics sure are surging at the moment, but the Nuggets are building one of the scariest young cores in the league, and are looking like a perennial top-5 seed in the West. With them, Gordon can provide all the highlights that he wants and absolutely lock down the opposing team's best player without having all of the offensive pressure on him alone.

The situation would have been similar in Boston, but with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and company, Gordon would have been an awkward fit as a tweener wing/big. Jokic fits his slashing game much better, and he legitimately provides the exact thing that they need. All around, Denver and Gordon is a perfect situation and a perfect fit.