Alongside the Knicks and Kings, Orlando has joined the ranks for most dysfunctional NBA Franchise.
The Magic have spent nearly half a decade of missing on lotto picks and mismanaging their roster. With this leaked whiteboard fiasco they may be throwing one of their few building blocks under the bus as well. Here’s what Aaron Gordon had to say on the matter courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel.
“It was definitely something that I wasn’t aware of before,” Gordon said today when asked about the dry-erase board’s content. “It wasn’t for me to see, so for me to see something like that, it brings something that’s out of my control into my reality. But that’s neither here nor there. My plan and my focus is to play basketball and to enjoy the game of basketball. Anything other than that is out of my control. I love this organization and I’m going to continue to work hard and play.”
When asked how difficult it is to put it out of his mind, Gordon responded, “Obviously, I know that it’s there, but I just play the game. I trust my skills. I love my teammates. So with that, I can just play.”
Kudos to Gordon for taking the high road and keeping the focus on the court. Basketball is a business but i’d be seething if a team that can’t get right was thinking of dealing one of it’s only attractions. ESPN did a 30 for 30 on Shaq leaving Orlando and the theme then was Shaq felt betrayed and unwanted before he decided to dip for LA. Gordon is far from Shaq’s level but the lesson is players don’t want to play for organization’s surrounded by drama.