Six for the Sixers: Aaron Gordon

<![CDATA[The NBA Playoffs have settled down to a steady pace after they seemingly started with a pedal to the metal frenzy first round. It's a shame that Philadelphia 76ers fans can't enjoy it as much as the sixteen cities that are participating or did participate in the NBA Playoffs, but that's what happens when your franchise is in full rebuild mode.

And let's be honest. That's what we're in. Since the Sixers had one of their worst seasons — capped off by a 26-game losing streak — 76ers fans have really only had one thing to look forward to since roughly December: the NBA Draft. There hasn't been this much hype and fanfare over a draft class since the "LeBron Class" of 2003. We're all salivating at the possibility of seeing Kansas' Andrew Wiggins, Kentucky's Julius Randle, or Duke's Jabari Parker in the red, white, and blue. (If you're my friend Kim, a die hard UNC fan, however, the concept of a Duke star leading the hometown squad is a bit much for her to accept.)

There's plenty of talent in this draft, and the Sixers could potentially have two of the first ten picks in the upcoming draft. Who do they take? Who makes sense? For the next few days on Total Sports Live, I'll be profiling the six collegiate stand outs whom I believe make the most sense for the 76ers.

(DISCLAIMER: This is simply an opinionated list. There are no right or wrong choices when it comes to someone's opinion, so let's keep the comments clean, shall we internet?)

… and now … "Six for the Sixers".

6. Aaron Gordon, SF/PF, 6’9″, 225 lbs., University of Arizona

When you watch Aaron Gordon on television, you easily see a comparison: Blake Griffin. Gordon is just as freakishly athletic. It’s his best asset. Gordon has a very quick first step that will allow him to drive past some of the slower small and power forwards in the NBA. With the exception of LeBron James and Paul George, very few forwards in the Eastern Conference will be able to keep up with his quickness. That creates match-up problems in transition or in an up-tempo fast paced half-court offense. Considering the Sixers had one of the higher possession rates in the league, Gordon would mesh very well.

Gordon also has a high-octane motor. He’s not running four cylinders. Aaron Gordon is a v12 that is going to accelerate without redlining for 35-40 minutes, so opposing teams better be ready for that. He plays very hard and is always looking to finish with some highlight worthy material. If he can’t do it himself, Gordon has an above average basketball IQ for someone at the tender age of 18. (He’ll be 19 at the start of the NBA season.)

Aside from his age and his athleticism is the fact that Aaron Gordon can defend multiple positions. He defends against guards and forwards equally well for someone of his size, and that’s mainly because he’s just so quick and agile. Gordon defends well without fouling — which is another great asset. What good is an elite defender if he’s not on the court? In 38 games, Gordon averaged three personal fouls per 40 minutes while being the best defender for the Wildcats. A coach like Brett Brown can easily use Gordon to maintain control of the perimeter with Michael Carter-Williams — who is also a decent perimeter defender because of his length.

Arizona head coach Sean Miller told Arizona Desert Swarm about Gordon’s defense:

“He guards multiple players each game. In Aaron’s case, he plays the low post, against a post player, and then he turns around and guards perimeter players. I can say that I don’t think any player that I’ve coached have been successful as a freshman doing that.”

If you’re putting Gordon down low on the block, you’ll get some pluses and minuses. On the plus side, you’ll get a guy that is a fierce defensive rebounder for someone that’s only 6’9″ with a 6’11” wingspan. The “small-ball 4” is a concept that’s getting used by a lot of teams (see Carmelo Anthony in NY or Harrison Barnes in Golden State), and Gordon can defend those types. You probably wouldn’t put him on someone like a Zach Randolph type (unless Aaron Gordon bulks up between now and the start of the NBA season). At first, the Sixers may not want to stick him on LeBron James by himself because he’ll just get muscled all day, but Gordon has the potential to be an All-NBA defender.

The issue the Sixers should have with Gordon is glaringly obvious. Gordon is limited offensively. When I say limited, I mean LIMITED! Gordon was able to live off of his athleticism at Arizona because no one in college basketball could match it. That won’t be the case in the NBA. Gordon’s jump shot is very underdeveloped and very inconsistent. He’s not a knockdown shooter at all right now, but since Gordon will be 19 when he enters the league, there’s time and opportunity to fix that. As stated, Blake Griffin was also pretty limited offensively when he first entered the league, but now, he at least has somewhat of a jump shot that he can hit regularly — not consistently, regularly. There’s a difference.

Gordon is not just limited offensively on the perimeter, but he’s also limited on the low post as well. Amazingly, Gordon doesn’t have much of a post game. Think about Dwight Howard. Howard was always the kind of post player that simply relied on his athleticism to get him to the hoop after one spin and finish violently. He didn’t have a turn-around hook shot, a face-up jumper, and couldn’t really turn on either shoulder really to finish at the hoop unless it was a dunk or if he was less than two feet from the basket. Gordon’s post game is similar to that. He’s more likely to try and drive past you with his speed and quickness than he is to give you a shoulder shimmy and put up a turn-around jump shot.

The Arizona standout could absolutely fit with what the Sixers did last season which is basically doing the same things that Samuel L. Jackson did in the movie “Coach Carter” with his team: pedal to the floor pace and hounding defense. With talent like Gordon on the squad, Brown’s defense will stand to get better as the Sixers didn’t really have that solid on-ball defender that they’ve had in past years with Andre Iguodala. Gordon would be a nice piece to pick up if he’s on the board in that 8-10 range (the Pelicans pick), but there is no way the Sixers should be using that top-3 pick on Gordon. He’s just not gifted enough offensively to warrant such a pick when there are better choices.

If Gordon is the second pick the Sixers take in the top-10, I doubt any of us will be all that displeased.

(For even more detailed analysis, click on over to Aaron Gordon’s scouting video care of Draft Express.)