With the NBA’s March 25 negotiation deadline in less than a week, league sellers are clarifying their demands.
The Orlando Magic is believed to be looking for a “young player or players, a choice of draft” and equivalent salary in exchange for striker Aaron Gordon, said Mike Singer of the Denver Post on Friday.
Michael Scotto, of Hoops Hype, reported a price similar to Orlando’s request for Gordon: a choice in the first round and a “good young player”.
Celtics Talk Podcast: Kyle Draper pours cold water on our hopes for Harrison Barnes | Listen and subscribe | Watch on youtube
Singer did not list the Celtics among the teams interested in Gordon – Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves are among those in the mix, by Singer – but the athletic striker would fit well in Boston.
“He would add some size (1.80 m) and versatility to the frontcourt,” wrote our Chris Forsberg about Gordon in January. “… He can create for others, he can play at the center in smallball lineups and he would potentially thrive with so much attention on the Boston stars.”
Gordon’s $ 18.1 million salary would fit the exception of $ 28.5 million traded players from the Celtics, and he is under contract until 2022.
The 25-year-old has just returned from a long absence due to an ankle injury, however, and the asking price for Magic is high for a player shooting on the floor, the low point of his career, 43.1%.
Forsberg: Negotiations don’t matter unless the C core decides to change
The other question is whether Boston has a “good young player” who would seduce Orlando. Romeo Langford may be the best active youngster on the team outside the “core four” of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart, but the 21-year-old has appeared in just 32 games in two injury-filled seasons.
Langford is also earning $ 3.6 million this season, so the C’s would need to send multiple players and / or significant money to Orlando to match Gordon’s $ 18.1 million number.
In short: unless Magic changes its asking price, Gordon does not seem a realistic option for the Celtics, who are supposed to be interested in several other players, including Orlando’s great man Nikola Vucevic.