Aaron Gordon has been a perfect fit in Denver since being traded to the Nuggets back in 2021, penciling into the other frontcourt position alongside Nikola Jokic. It’s the exact role the Nuggets needed, and he has been able to play it admirably, but now, they need more.
Finally, the team has built up its depth, and they have the ability to use Gordon in more diverse ways. They would be crazy not to take advantage. For the first phase of his career in Orlando, Gordon mostly played on the wing and acted as a lead initiator on offense frequently.
As he aged, he added muscle and naturally shifted to the power forward position. But he has become an elite shooter recently, and he still has the perimeter skills inside him to play all over the court. For the first time in his Nuggets career, the team has a wide range of options on the wing and in the frontcourt, and they can afford to experiment with AG’s role.
Gordon has always excelled as a wing defender
The Nuggets have wisely utilized Gordon as a wing defender, where he has done a great job of guarding some of the league’s best players like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant. But that worked out because the team had a 6’10” small forward in Michael Porter Jr., who was an elite rebounder for his position.
But at this point, the Nuggets can bump AG to almost any spot in the lineup and backfill whatever they need behind him. They can go with a jumbo lineup and play Gordon with two centers in Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas, as they toyed with in Tuesday night’s preseason game.
They also have more shooting and can let Gordon run more offense like he used to in Orlando. They can have him play a bit of point forward and initiate things with shooters all around him and a pick-and-roll partner in Jokic or JV.
Gordon’s three-point shooting unlocks many possibilities
The other big change has been the recent uptick in shooting by Gordon, which doesn’t appear to be a fluke. He took a major leap last season and was able to sustain it all season and into the playoffs. The shot looks smoother than ever and that appears to have carried over into this year, which should give the offense a major boost.
For years, Gordon’s role was basically patrolling the dunker spot, finishing alley-oops, and putting up occasional open corner threes. This season, the coaching staff should be much more creative with Gordon and take advantage of everything he can do and all the mismatches he can create.
If they’re smart, they can twist him into a sort of two-way Swiss Army Knife that can bring the Nuggets up a level as a team, and make their offense and defense more dynamic overall units.