Charania’s Latest: Gordon, Baynes, Turner, Wiseman

Multiple teams are monitoring Magic forward Aaron Gordon and would have interest if he becomes available, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, according to Charania, Orlando has shown no interest in trading Gordon.

The fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Gordon has flashed tantalizing potential as a two-way impact player and is still just 24 years old. He’s also on a team-friendly contract, which is worth $19.86MM this season and declines all the way to $16.41MM in 2021/22. As such, it makes sense that he’d generate interest around the league and that the Magic wouldn’t want to move on from him, despite the fact that he hasn’t necessarily put it all together yet.

Here’s more from Charania:

  • Some potential contenders – such as the Lakers – were hoping that the Suns viewed Aron Baynes as a salary dump when they acquired him on draft night and would eventually buy him out, Charania writes. Instead, the veteran center has emerged as a key part of Phoenix’s lineup. Baynes is on an expiring contract and one team executive believes the big man is “positioning himself for well over $10MM per year,” as Charania relays.
  • Pacers center Myles Turner, who was listed as “week-to-week” after suffering a sprained ankle on October 30, hopes to return on Saturday when Indiana hosts Milwaukee, per Charania.
  • Even if top 2020 draft prospect James Wiseman is ruled ineligible for the entire NCAA season, scouts and executives don’t expect it to affect his draft stock. “Will him sitting the year impact him a spot or two? Maybe,” one high-ranking team official said to Charania. “But it isn’t impacting his financial base. He is known as a talent.” A season-long ban is unlikely though. One source tells Charania that Wiseman and Memphis are hoping for a suspension in the range of three-to-six games after he dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA this week.
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