ORLANDO – Since he was old enough to remember, Aaron Gordon dreamed of someday competing in the NBA’s Slam Dunk competition. Now that he’s not only competed in it, but became the talk of the basketball world with his high-flying exploits, Gordon marvels at how the event changed his life.
Since last Saturday night, when Gordon wowed those all around the NBA by twice jumping over the Orlando Magic’s mascot, Stuff, Gordon has picked up approximately 140,000 followers on Instagram. He’s been contacted by various Hollywood celebrities and musical artists via Twitter. And his agent has been in talks with various companies looking to use “Air Gordon” as a spokesperson for their products.
“There are definitely more opportunities and more doors have opened up that weren’t previously open to me,” the 20-year-old Gordon said with a smile. “Other than that, I like to think of myself as a very humble guy and I’m grateful for every opportunity that I get. As fun as it was and as much publicity as I have gotten, I’m still me and I’m still going to come out here and work hard (for the Magic).”
Gordon finished runner-up to defending champion, Zach LaVine, after the two young players needed two extra dunks to determine a winner. While several of his teammates – and several thousands of fans on social media – declared Gordon the true winner of the judged event, the second-year Magic forward tried to stay away from the controversial nature of the event. Instead, he is delighting in the fact that he breathed life into a contest that was thought to be tired and stale.
“Potentially, I could have won,” Gordon said. “In the first four dunks, potentially we didn’t have to go into the overtime for those extra dunks. But Zach went through the legs from the free throw line – well, a step (inside) the free throw line. There are no losers. Everybody won (in the event), everybody won who was watching it and everybody knows now that the dunk contest is back. So everybody wins because of that.”
ROTATION SITUATION: With the arrival of Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova – Orlando’s haul from the trade with Detroit for Tobias Harris – and the return of point guard C.J. Watson, Magic head coach Scott Skiles said it could take a matter of time for him to sort out the playing rotation.
Skiles’ initial plan is to stick with a starting lineup of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Gordon because of their success together in the three games before the break for the NBA All-Star Game. Skiles is planning on using Jennings and Ilyasova off the bench – and likely together – because of their familiarity in playing together previously in Milwaukee and Detroit.
Watson, a free-agent signee back in July, is finally back after missing 44 games with a Baker’s cyst in his left leg that caused him pain in his knee and calf. His return and the arrival of Jennings, combined with Payton and Shabazz Napier still being on the roster, creates something of a logjam at the point guard position.
Figuring out how to get all of the Magic’s newcomers playing time, while not shortchanging promising young players such as Mario Hezonja and Gordon, could be a challenge for Skiles.
“I don’t want to appear to be too experimental, but we did make a trade for two rotational players, so I’ve got to get those guys out there in the game and see how they fit,” Skiles said. “And the thing that makes it even more odd is that all of a sudden C.J. is back now as well. All of a sudden we’re really deep at the point guard position. Doling out those minutes could be a bit of a challenge, but C.J. can play off the ball as well. But do we want to take minutes away from Mario doing that? So there’s a lot of things that go into it. I’m going to play (Jennings and Ilyasova), but we’ve just got to see how they fit in the group. But the main goal is still to try and win the game and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”
MEMORIES OF FRYE: In their second move prior to the NBA trade deadline, the Magic traded veteran power forward Channing Frye to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday afternoon.
Though Frye never meshed with the Magic’s young squad on the floor and fell out of the regular rotation each of the past two seasons, he was a favorite among the coaching staff and with his teammates because of his willingness to speak up and his light-hearted nature.
“When I first got here – me and Channing got here at the same time – and he looked out for me as an Arizona Wildcat,” Gordon said. “He showed me the ropes and lightened things up and made sense of not taking (basketball) too serious. Channing is different dude, he showed me the ropes and he made sure that I didn’t take anything too personal.”
Magic head coach Scott Skiles said that Frye was one of the first players on the team to reach out to him when he was hired last May. He raved about Frye’s willingness to do whatever it took for the good of the team and his desire to be a vocal leader in the locker room for the youthful Magic.
“Channing is guy that I had never come across and I didn’t know him, but people spoke highly of him,” Skiles remembered. “Sometimes you’ll get some veterans who have played for other teams and they don’t really want to buy in when a new coach comes in. He was, in fact, just the opposite. I had a relationship with him and he bought in. It was tough for him because he didn’t play much early on (this season) and he just wants to be in an environment where he can play. He’ll be a factor for (the Cavaliers. They’ve got nice spacing and playmakers and they’re going to find him when he’s open.”
FLASH ARMSTRONG AS A HEAD COACH: Incredibly, it’s been 13 years since Darrell Armstrong played in Orlando, but he’s still considered a fan favorite among many Magic supporters. Not surprising to many in Orlando who saw the way Armstrong willed many of the teams that he played on with his grit and determination, he went right into coaching not long after ending his playing career in 2008.
The Dallas Mavericks, the team that Armstrong played for from 2004-2006, hired Armstrong as an assistant coach for player development in 2009. He was a part of the Mavs coaching staff that won the NBA title in 2011 and he’s become a key piece in Dallas’ development of several young players.
Armstrong has earned enough credibility as a coach that Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle feels that the player affectionately known as “Flash” could someday be a head coach in the NBA.
“He just has to stay with it, keep working and keep learning,” said Carlisle, someone who is almost unanimously considered one of the best coaches in the NBA. “He loves the game, respects the game and he’s done a great job for us. He’s high energy and he can motivate people. He’s a guy that could get there (as a head coach).”
