Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Dallas Mavericks
Acquiring Aaron Gordon gives the Mavericks a lot of options to play around with rotation wise, but it also makes them a much better transition team. Given Gordon’s athletic abilities and above-average abilities to run the court as a forward, Luka Doncic would have a field day finding him in the open court for fast-break points.
Over the years, Aaron Gordon has played the power-forward position for the Orlando Magic, but the Mavericks could potentially move him to small-forward for some bigger lineups. It may not be ideal given his struggles from the three-point line over the last few seasons, but it is something the Mavs could definitely keep in the back of their minds come playoff time when looking at matchups.
Hypothetically, adding Aaron Gordon to this Dallas Mavericks roster would give them a likely starting lineup of: Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr, Josh Richardson, Aaron Gordon and Kristaps Porzingis, assuming everyone is healthy. Then, with key guys like Trey Burke, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell coming off the bench, the Dallas Mavericks would have a legit playoff contending team on their hands.
The problem with Gordon with the Magic over the years is that they have put so much pressure on him to be the star of the team and be one of the top scoring options. Much like Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota, while it worked for a bit, Gordon is not a top option on an NBA team, which is why his scoring and shooting numbers have declined over the years.
Just like Wiggins’ situation with the Timberwolves, both of these players are great secondary-scoring options but cannot handle all the pressure of being the “go-to” guy in a sense. In a system where he would be next to Doncic and Porzingis, two proven All-Star talents, Gordon could thrive as the third or fourth scoring option and be a legit threat on the offensive end of the court.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the Dallas Mavericks to separate themselves from the middle-of-the-pack in the Western Conference and with Porzingis missing some time early on, it would make a lot of sense for the Mavs to pull the trigger on a trade like this sooner than later.
