"I'm just looking to make everybody else better": Inside Aaron Gordon's Nuggets debut

It wasn’t Aaron Gordon’s 13 points on a neat 6-9 shooting, or his defense on John Collins that jumped to Nikola Jokic’s mind when he was asked postgame about Gordon’s Nuggets debut.

It was that Gordon — just over 48 hours after walking off the tarmac at DIA beside Tim Connelly — already accepted the exact role that Denver’s brass envisioned he would fill when the Nuggets executed the bold trade deadline deal that landed them the versatile 25-year-old last week.

“The main thing and the best thing he did was he accepted the role,” Jokic said. “He knows why he came here. He knows what he can do. He knows how he can help. He’s doing that. Defense, offense, it doesn’t matter. He accepted it and he’s embracing it.”

“He’s going to try to be the best he can be. He kind of saw how we play and he didn’t really try to do too much. He saw if he’s open, the ball’s going to find him. I think it was a really good debut for him.”

Gordon did a bit of everything Sunday in the Nuggets’ 126-102 win over the Hawks, much to the satisfaction of Jokic and Denver’s front office who was watching intently from their normal seats in Ball Arena’s lower bowl. He knocked down a pair of mid-range jumpers and drained a transition three. He attacked the rim with confidence. Gordon also teamed up with Jokic on a clever 5-4 pick-and-roll where Denver’s MVP candidate found Gordon on the way to the rim for one of his two dunks on the night.

Defensively, it looked like the Nuggets’ enacted a more switch-heavy gameplan with Gordon in the starting lineup. Gordon held Collins to just 11 points on 3-9 shooting and had a few notable defensive possessions where he switched out onto Atlanta’s guards and wings.

Most of all, Gordon played within himself, which wasn’t a surprise based on how he’s spoken since the trade. On Saturday, Gordon defined his role on the Nuggets as an “athletic slasher, runner, facilitator, spot-up shooter, and tenacious defender.” He also noted that cutting is a significant part of his game and he was excited about the prospects of playing alongside a facilitator like Jokic. Gordon’s natural ability as an off-ball mover jumped out against the Hawks. It will be one of his main vehicles for scoring, and his gravity as a cutter will free up open looks for Denver’s shooters too.

This cut by Gordon attracted the attention of three Hawks players.

“There’s a ton of ways to get your offense going within the system, and I’m really not worried about that,” Gordon said. “I’m looking to lock up on the defensive end every night and then just make the right plays. Hit guys for open looks, knock down shots when I’m open, and just make the game easier for everyone else that’s out there. I’m just looking to make everybody else better around me.”

Before pulling the trigger on one of the landmark trades of the Connelly era, the Nuggets felt strongly that Gordon would buy into Denver’s selfless offensive system. Whatever intel Denver gathered in the lead-up to the trade deadline seems like it was spot on. Gordon has said all the right things publicly, and between the lines looks like he’ll fit seamlessly into the Nuggets’ scheme.

The Nuggets’ new starting lineup — Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., Gordon and Jokic — outscored the Hawks 55-38 in the 20 minutes that they spent on the floor Sunday. Denver shot 62.2% from the field when its starting five played together and held Atlanta to 42.1% shooting. All five Nuggets starters scored in double-figures. It was as good of a start to the next iteration of the Jokic era as Denver could have asked for.

“We kept it simple,” Malone said of Denver’s offense. “But what I loved about it, we had countless possessions where we just had great ball movement and body movement and Aaron fit right into that, making really good, timely, cuts, making plays for his teammates. I told our guys in the huddle, when we play like this, offensively, I think we’re really hard for teams to guard us.”

I’ll amend Malone’s statement slightly. When the Nuggets move the ball like they did Sunday, no defense has a prayer in stopping them. With the number of playmakers and high IQ offensive threats on Denver’s roster, it’s a disappointment whenever the Nuggets end a possession with anything other than a layup or wide-open three. It feels like Denver can get one of those two types of looks every time down if they really want. That’s how good the Nuggets’ offense is and will continue to be, especially after adding Gordon.

Gordon of course still needs game reps to learn Denver’s playbook cover-to-cover. He’ll need to get acclimated to the altitude too. Gordon said that a short trip up a flight of stairs on Sunday left him “coughing and wheezing.”

With minimal practice time this season, most of Gordon’s study hall hours will take place during the Nuggets’ 26 remaining regular-season games. But Gordon is confident that his learning curve won’t be steep. He has previous relationships with the Nuggets’ top two assistant coaches, Wes Unseld Jr. and David Adelman, who both had stints on the Magic coaching staff while Gordon was in Orlando. Gordon also believes that his basketball IQ and NBA experience will help him learn Denver’s offensive and defensive schemes sooner rather than later.

“I pick things up quick,” Gordon said.

Denver’s short, two-month runway to the playoffs is why Malone opted to insert Gordon into the starting lineup right away. It was a decision that Gordon admitted he was initially surprised by, but Malone wanted his new-look starting and bench lineups to begin the process of establishing their identities.

“I thought it was an incredible show of respect,” Gordon said about joining the starting lineup. “And I’m very honored to be starting from the jump. I’m going to do my best to give it everything I’ve got. I’m not looking back. I’m going to play my game, make it easy on everybody.”

“I really respect the coaching staff for making that decision.”

If Gordon continues to play the same complementary role that he did Sunday, Denver’s starting group will lock in on its identity rather quickly. Gordon averaged 12 shot attempts per game with the Magic this season but is unlikely to see that many with the Nuggets.

He’s more than fine with it.

Gordon didn’t come to Denver to score points. He didn’t deem the Nuggets the best fit for his game out of all of his potential trade deadline suitors because Denver provided an opportunity to raise his scoring average. Gordon went to the playoffs just twice in seven seasons in Orlando. He’s been a part of only one team that’s finished above .500.

If you’re wondering just how thrilled Gordon is to be in Denver, watch his postgame Zoom conference from Sunday night. Gordon smiled through an entire answer when discussing Denver’s offense and how much fun it was to play alongside Jokic, Murray, Porter and Co. for the first time.

Aaron Gordon, smiling through this entire postgame answer: "A ton of fun. The style of play is amazing. It's just great. It's great. It's a lot of fun to be out there playing with this team." pic.twitter.com/4gVOyFNjcn

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) March 29, 2021

He’s willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to win.

“I think that he came to win something,” Jokic said of Gordon. “And I think when you’re trying to win, you need to sacrifice a little bit of something. I think his mindset and his mentality is great.”