The Mavs and Suns
Another No. 1 pick, Hezonja, heads off to N.Y.
reached deals with free agents — and those arrangements could affect Magic restricted free agent Aaron Gordon.
Aaron Gordon and the Magic agreed to a four-year deal worth a total of about $84 million Sunday night to keep him in Orlando, Yahoo Sports reported and the Orlando Sentinel confirmed. A source with knowledge of the situation told the Sentinel that the contract will be a straight four-year deal that does not include a player option or a team option.
Retaining Gordon, a restricted free-agent forward, was the Magic’s top priority in free agency. He posted the best statistical season of his four-year NBA career in 2017-18. He averaged career highs of 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. After a torrid start with his long-range accuracy, he finished the season shooting a careerbest 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Magic drafted Gordon fourth overall in 2014.
Now that Mario Hezonja has decided to join the New York Knicks, Gordon will be the only player remaining on the Magic’s
roster who was drafted during Rob Hennigan’s tenure as general manager.
Gordon posted a message on social media to announce he’ll remain with the Magic.
He wrote: “Back with the magic! Let’s go!!”
The contract can be signed at noon EDT on Friday when the NBA’s annual early-July moratorium on free-agent signings is scheduled to end. As of Sunday evening, the year-to-year salary structure of the agreement between Gordon and Orlando had not been hammered out, a source told the Sentinel. But the two sides had reached a deal in principle on the overall framework.
Once the deal is finalized, Gordon will become Orlando’s highest-paid player, eclipsing the $17 million annual salaries that swingman Evan Fournier and center Bismack Biyombo each receives.
Devoting that much money to Gordon carries a significant element of risk to the Magic. In his four seasons, Gordon has not come close to reaching All-Star status. Also, he missed portions of his first and fourth seasons due to injuries. He sat out almost half of his rookie season after he underwent surgery to repair a fractured bone in his left foot. Since the late stages of the 2015-16 season, he also has suffered three concussions, including two concussions this past season.
Gordon received a lucrative deal even though this summer is a relatively rotten summer to be a restricted free agent. The Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers — teams that had been rumored to have interest in Gordon — reached deals with other free agents that diminished their cap flexibility.
The Mavericks reportedly agreed to a one-year $24.1 million contract with center DeAndre Jordan. The Suns, meanwhile, reached a oneyear $15 million deal with forward Trevor Ariza. The Lakers agreed on a four-year $154 million deal with LeBron James. Those moves will cut deeply into the salary cap space for all three teams and, in turn, seemed likely to hurt Gordon’s leverage in negotiations with the Magic. But Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman and Magic General Manager John Hammond value Gordon. The magnitude of the Gordon deal indicates that.
Orlando’s next objective in free agency is to add help at point guard since incumbent starter D.J. Augustin is the only point guard on the roster. One potential target for the Magic — albeit a difficult target for the Magic to acquire — came off the board Sunday when Toronto Raptors restricted free agent Fred VanVleet agreed to resign with the Raptors on a two-year deal.
Hezonja, Orlando’s most prominent unrestricted free agent, agreed to a deal with the rebuilding Knicks, ESPN reported and the Orlando Sentinel confirmed from a source close to Hezonja. Although Hezonja loves Central Florida, his first priority was to join a team that would give him major minutes. The Knicks offered that playing time while the Magic have a more crowded depth chart on the wings and in the frontcourt.