{"id":38430,"date":"2021-03-26T15:09:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T19:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=38430"},"modified":"2021-03-26T15:09:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T19:09:11","slug":"nba-trade-deadline-grading-the-denver-nuggets-deal-to-acquire-aaron-gordon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/03\/26\/nba-trade-deadline-grading-the-denver-nuggets-deal-to-acquire-aaron-gordon\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Trade Deadline: Grading the Denver Nuggets\u2019 Deal to Acquire Aaron Gordon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After one of the most exhilarating NBA Trade Deadline days in recent memory, it\u2019s time to sort out some of what just happened. One of the day&#8217;s biggest blockbuster trades stems around the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/magic\/\" target=\"_self\">Orland Magic<\/a> sending <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gordoaa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Gordon<\/a><\/strong> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/nuggets\/\" target=\"_self\">Denver Nuggets<\/a>. The Magic will receive <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harriga01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gary Harris<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hamptrj01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">R.J. Hampton<\/a><\/strong>, and a first-round pick in return. <em>ESPN&#8217;s <\/em>Adrian Wojnarowski <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">first reported the news via Twitter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rebuild is in full swing for the Magic while Denver gears up for a championship run. Check out some grades for this blockbuster NBA Trade Deadline deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gary Harris, RJ Hampton and a first-round pick to the Magic for Aaron Gordon, source tells ESPN. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VWMUVCokeS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/VWMUVCokeS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1375122748989640705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 25, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>NBA Trade Deadline: Denver Nuggets Trade for Aaron Gordon\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Denver Nuggets Eye Championship After Adding Aaron Gordon\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nuggets have officially made their biggest push to earning championship contender status. Denver added the explosive Gordon at today\u2019s NBA Trade Deadline. Gordon, a seven-year combo forward, immediately slots into Denver\u2019s starting rotation. The explosive athlete adds a level of legitimate depth to this roster, which sits fifth in the Western Conference with a 26-18 record.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, Gordon averages 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists this season. He\u2019ll provide a huge impact on multiple levels for his new squad. For starters, the 6-foot-8 forward is an above-average defender with some versatility thanks to his athleticism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;5739&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gordon should thrive with the combo of <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murraja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jamal Murray<\/a> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He&#8217;s a low-touch option at forward. He provides a scoring threat and lob-threat without the ball in his hands. Denver\u2019s starting lineup also slots <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Michael Porter Jr.<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into the other forward position. This leaves <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/millspa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Millsap<\/a> <\/b>the <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ability to lead the second unit off the bench.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denver will be a nightmare to game plan against defensively once the playoffs roll around.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Grade: A+<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><b>Orland Magic Continue the League\u2019s Biggest Rebuild\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Orlando, it\u2019s all about the rebuild. The Magic currently own one of the league\u2019s worst records at 15-29. They sit 14th in the Eastern Conference standings. Orlando has already sent away three of their highest-scoring options by <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/03\/25\/orlando-magic-trade-nikola-vucevic-to-the-chicago-bulls-grades\/\" target=\"_self\">trading away<\/a> Gordon, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vucevni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Vucevic<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/fournev01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Fournier<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the best deal that Orlando has found today in terms of finding a return with immediate impact. Harris is the most talented player on Orlando\u2019s current roster alongside <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rosste01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terrence Ross<\/a><\/strong>. His role as a scoring option should climb drastically. The stats will follow. Harris averages 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per night. These stats are less than one would think because of Murray and Jokic\u2019s role in Denver. He also shoots better than 45 percent from the field in his career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Orlando added another first-round draft pick while grabbing Hampton. Hampton is a highly-touted 20-year-old prospect with plenty of time to grow into his game. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/31124538\/orlando-magic-aaron-gordon-says-frustration-fueled-request-traded\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reports also indicated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that Gordon has grown so unhappy in Orlando, he made an official trade request earlier this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Grade: B<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"9IA1vET7Qvt9ebLwWHn4pQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/510111346\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'9IA1vET7Qvt9ebLwWHn4pQ',sig:'9Q9cPFqvZgpApkADHbvpqLTlKOXApXEq_qS_G1fpuWc=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'510111346',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After one of the most exhilarating NBA Trade Deadline days in recent memory, it\u2019s time to sort out some of what just happened. One of the day&#8217;s biggest blockbuster trades stems around the Orland Magic sending Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets. The Magic will receive Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton, and a first-round pick in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3508,"featured_media":38434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1608,62,17],"tags":[472,238,4198,4246,2082],"class_list":["post-38430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nuggets","category-basketball","category-nba","category-magic","tag-aaron-gordon","tag-gary-harris","tag-magic-featured","tag-nuggets-featured","tag-r-j-hampton"],"modified_by":"Dylan Guest, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}