Veteran Eric Gordon gives his thoughts on new Philadelphia 76ers teammate Joel Embiid.
The Philadelphia 76ers have had a busy offseason as President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has done a terrific job of taking advantage of the cap space he has been able to create.
The big addition has, obviously, been Paul George, but the Sixers also added some helpful role players such as Eric Gordon for example. Gordon, a 16-year veteran, shot 37.8% from deep in the 2023-24 season for the Phoenix Suns.
As Gordon now heads to Philadelphia, he will now be playing with superstar big man Joel Embiid. Gordon is no stranger to playing with stars as he has played with the likes of Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and others in the past.
“Well, I think he’ll be the most dominant or dominant big that’ll be my teammate,” Gordon laughed. “I’ve had AD before, Blake Griffin during his good time. I mean, I’ve had a lot of good bigs, but he’s very dynamic.”
As terrific as Davis and Griffin have been in their careers, neither of them has been named an MVP and can do the things Embiid can. Not to take away from those two players, because they’re both fantastic, but Embiid is just on another level. Gordon should benefit from the open 3s he will get while playing next to the big fella.
“He’s a major force down there so,” Gordon added. “Like I said, as long as we all figure it out, jell together, I mean, the game should be easier for him and it should be easier for everyone else. So yeah, he’s definitely a special player.”
Embiid has always excelled when he’s had shooting around him. When the big fella is able to have spacing, that’s when teams are not able to double team him as much and if they do double, then Embiid will be able to pass it out to guys like Gordon which makes life easier for everybody on the offensive end of the floor.
Eric Gordon explains what the Philadelphia 76ers are getting in new star Paul George.
The Philadelphia 76ers have had a busy offseason highlighted by the addition of Paul George. The idea is that George will form an elite trio with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and help the Sixers finally get over the hump in the East.
However, the Sixers also need to put a team around those three stars. They have done a solid job thus far with the additions of Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Caleb Martin while also bringing back Kelly Oubre Jr. On paper, this is a very talented Sixers team.
Gordon played briefly with George in the 2022-23 season with the Los Angeles Clippers and gave his thoughts on what the Sixers are getting in the 9-time All-Star.
“Paul has always been a good teammate,” said Gordon. “You guys will see and his demeanor and he always comes ready to play. I think he’s going to fit in well for this team because he brings a different dynamic. He’s definitely a two-way player. I just like his demeanor for this team and I think he’s gonna love it, and so, I think it’ll work out well.”
It’s obvious what George brings to the table. He has been a dominant player in the league for a long time and he will look to carry that over to Philadelphia. Even in his 14th season, he did average 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 41.3% from deep on 7.9 attempts per night.
Gordon shot 42.3% from deep for the Clippers while playing next to George and Kawhi Leonard. One has to assume that he will be able to shoot somewhere around that percentage for Philadelphia with both George and Embiid flanking him.
Tyrese Maxey draws praise from new Philadelphia 76ers additions Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon.
CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers have had a busy offseason as they have made a slew of roster moves and brought in some big names, but one of the bigger moves the team made was to extend Tyrese Maxey for five years and $204 million.
Maxey is one of the top young guards in the league and is only going to get better after averaging 25.9 points and was an All-Star in 2023-24. The rising star is only going to get better and his maniacal work ethic is going to be beneficial for him in the future.
The fact that Maxey continues to grow has caught the eye of new addition Andre Drummond. Of course, Drummond played with Maxey in the 2021-22 season before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets at the deadline so he has an idea of what Maxey can do.
“He’s done everything that I expected him to do,” Drummond said. “From the day I met Tyrese, I said ‘This kid is gonna be special’. He’s worked—he never takes any days off! He works on his game. He works on his body. He does everything to try to make himself and this team better so you can’t ask for more from a guy like him and everything he’s gotten is well deserved.”
Maxey has taken big steps forward as a 3-point shooter. He took 8.1 3s per game in the 2023-24 season and knocked them down at a 37.3% rate. It’s obvious that he is only going to get better and help the Sixers take the next step.
That is something that Eric Gordon has seen from afar as he discussed his potential fit for the Sixers.
“Very dynamic guard,” Gordon said of Maxey. “I watched him grow throughout his career. You know, big-time scorer, big high-level scorer, and I think this year with now that you have a lot more guys around him, he can be even more of a playmaker than he has been in the past. I think his game is going to just continue to grow and blossom so I mean, I like where he’s at now, and I like where he’s going to be potentially, and I’m definitely gonna fit in on this team.”
As the Sixers move forward, the pressure will be on Joel Embiid and Paul George to lead the way, but Maxey is going to play a huge role in whatever success the Sixers have in the upcoming season.
Eric Gordon singles out Daryl Morey in his reasoning for joining the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is certainly a man who is not afraid to pull the trigger on any deal if he feels as if it will help his team take the next step. He has made big moves plenty of times in his NBA career in a front office.
This offseason has been a big example of that as he has brought in Paul George, Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin, and Eric Gordon in an effort to help the Sixers take the next step in the Eastern Conference.
On a Zoom call on Wednesday, Gordon singled out Morey in his reasoning for joining the Sixers in free agency.
“Obviously, when you have a chance to play for a good, world-renowned organization with a good coaching staff and a potentially good team, I mean, it was almost like a no-brainer,” said Gordon. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Daryl Morey from back in Houston. I know he’s religious about winning. So I thought when you look at the roster, we have a pretty good roster, so it’s very intriguing to be here.”
Morey has put the Sixers in a position to win since he took over in Philadelphia in 2020. In that initial offseason, he sent out Al Horford and Josh Richardson and brought back Seth Curry and Danny Green to put spacing around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
In 2022, he waited for the right move to send Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden. When Harden wanted out, Morey sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers for expiring contracts to make a run at George. He has always done what’s best for Philadelphia to be a contender.
Morey also brought in coach Nick Nurse who’s known for his unorthodox schemes and willingness to win. That’s also what drew Gordon to the Sixers.
“Nick’s won—he’s won a championship,” she explained. “He’s gonna mix defenses. He’s a guy that kind of does whatever it takes to win and so, of course, you want a coach that’s got the players back and also with his junk defenses—that means you’re doing everything possible. You’re at least trying and showing it and he’s good at a lot of things. So, I think with the type of team we have, we just got to be able to fit in and jell.”
The Sixers will have their challenges in the upcoming season, but it’s obvious that they have the talent and it’s all about making it mesh together at this point.
New addition Eric Gordon sends a message to the Philadelphia 76ers fans after the big moves the franchise made.
The Philadelphia 76ers are in a great spot as they move forward with the offseason. They swung for the fences and hit a home run with the addition of Paul George, they kept Tyrese Maxey in tow, and they added bench pieces in Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon.
Gordon was brought in on a veteran’s minimum deal after a season with the Phoenix Suns and will look to be a helpful addition. The veteran shot 37.8% from deep in the 2023-24 season and averaged 11.0 points. His main role will be to provide spacing for the offense.
While competing internationally for the Bahamas, Gordon spoke with BasketNews and sent a message to Sixers fans after the moves:
“The Sixers fans should be happy. We’re going to be a team to be reckoned with. We look forward to trying to win the championship next year,” Gordon told BasketNews about the recent 76ers moves.
The Sixers will certainly be among the top contenders for the 2024-25 season. Led by George, Maxey, and Joel Embiid, Philadelphia will be in a great position throughout the season. It will come down to health and the depth they possess in order to break through and reach the finals. Gordon will help in that department.
The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a deal with veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon in free agency.
The Philadelphia 76ers continue to move forward with their free agency plans as they look to build a championship contending roster around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. They already agreed to a deal with Andre Drummond and now they’ve added another shooter.
The Sixers have agreed to a deal with veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon who spent the previous season with the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 11.0 points and 2.0 assists while shooting 37.8% from deep on 5.8 attempts per night.
Gordon spent seven seasons with the Houston Rockets from 2016 through 2023 so he has a history with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey from their days together in Houston.
Eric Gordon has agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium.
Gordon will look to space the floor for Embiid and Maxey to operate. One has to figure that while he likely won’t start, he will play a key role for Philadelphia. He has the shooting and the experience to help the Sixers get over the hump in the Eastern Conference.
Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Eric Gordon could be names to watch as the Rockets pursue a “two-way veteran” in free agency, Kelly Iko reports.
Guards and wings such as Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, Saddiq Bey, and Eric Gordon are names to watch as the Rockets pursue two-way veteran players in free agency, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reports.
Houston has several spending tools available to use in the 2024 offseason, including the non-taxpayer mid-level exception — which offers a starting salary of approximately $13 million annually.
Head coach Ime Udoka previously identified shooting and defensive versatility as among the team’s needs this offseason. But according to Iko, it’s important that both of those come in the same package, so that Houston isn’t sacrificing one for the sake of the other.
Shooting is seen as paramount but simply adding sharpshooters who can’t defend is not ideal. So, a player like Doug McDermott wouldn’t be a fit with Udoka.
Two-way veterans like Alec Burks, Gary Harris, Talen Horton-Tucker and Saddiq Bey (among others) are of interest, but Bey’s restricted free agency makes things difficult. Free agent Eric Gordon is “50-50” on a return to Phoenix, according to a source close to the veteran guard, but is also interested in a Rockets reunion.
From the 2023-24 season, key statistics for those players are:
Alec Burks (Pistons, Knicks): 10.4 points in 18.4 minutes; 37.6% on 3-pointers
Talen Horton-Tucker (Jazz): 10.1 points, 3.5 assists in 19.8 minutes; 33.0% on 3-pointers
Saddiq Bey (Hawks): 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds in 32.7 minutes; 31.6% on 3-pointers
Eric Gordon (Suns): 11.0 points, 2.0 assists in 27.8 minutes; 37.8% on 3-pointers
2024 NBA free agency agreements can be reached between teams and external players starting on the night of Sunday, June 30.
LeBron James on the 2018 Rockets and their shooting futility in Game 7 of the West finals: “Twenty-seven straight threes? 27? And they kept shooting them?”
Since its March launch, the Mind the Game podcast by NBA legend LeBron James and former player (and current league analyst) JJ Redick has drawn a substantial amount of interest and praise for its insights related to professional basketball, both past and present.
On a new episode, unfortunately, the 2017-18 Houston Rockets caught a stray from James (who laughed upon making his comments).
Led by James Harden, Chris Paul, and head coach Mike D’Antoni, those Rockets finished with an NBA-leading record of 65-17, which remains the best in franchise history. They were the No. 1 seed in the 2018 Western Conference playoffs and pushed defending champion Golden State to a winner-take-all Game 7 in the West finals.
Sadly, Paul wasn’t able to play in Game 7 (box score) due to a hamstring injury, and the short-handed Rockets knew they needed to make 3-pointers to have a chance against the favored Warriors.
Unfortunately, they misfired on nearly all of them. In a historically poor shooting performance, the Rockets made just 7-of-44 shots (15.9%) from 3-point range, including a stretch in the middle of the game with 27 consecutive misses from behind the arc.
27 straight threes? 27? And they kept shooting them? It’s not like all of them was only 3-point shooters. It’s not like they had five Craig Hodges on their team, or five Steve Kerr [types] on the floor… where that’s all they can do, is shoot threes.
They had guys that can… Eric Gordon can get into the paint. James Harden can get into the paint.
As a whole, the podcast episode explores how the evolution of 3-point shooting and the emphasis on it has changed the way basketball is played. For his part, James seems to be arguing that Houston’s clear emphasis on 3-point shooting made them easier to defend.
The light-hearted criticism, of course, is missing a bit of context.
For starters, Paul (unavailable due to injury) was one of Houston’s best players at shooting in mid-range areas. Second, Harden went 10-of-16 (62.5%) on two-point shots in that Game 7, while Gordon was 7-of-10 (70.0%) from inside the arc. They combined to draw 12 free throws, and it arguably should have been more, if not for highly controversial officiating by a Scott Foster-led crew.
Combined, Harden and Gordon took more shot attempts from inside the arc than they did from 3-point range, and that’s before factoring in shots that weren’t counted due to a foul resulting in free throws. So, it wasn’t as if they simply fired away from 3-point range.
Veteran forwards Trevor Ariza and PJ Tucker did take 14 of their combined 21 shot attempts from 3-point range, but neither had the athleticism or creation ability to score off the dribble (as evidenced by James excluding them from his podcast comments).
The most important context, though, is that between Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the Warriors were led by four Hall of Famers and three of the best high volume 3-point shooters of all-time (Curry, Durant, and Thompson).
With Paul absent, the Rockets only had one star player in Harden. Thus, there wouldn’t seem to be a mathematical path to keeping pace with the high-powered Warriors without taking (and making) a respectable amount of 3-pointers. That led to 44 attempts, a number approximately in line with what most NBA teams (including the 2023-24 Rockets, led by Ime Udoka) continue to prioritize today.
Unfortunately, they missed 37 of them, and the rest is history.
In hindsight, the thought process is understandable. But that won’t stop occasional jokes from being fired off, at Houston’s expense.
It is truly remarkable that LeBron is still playing as well as he does.
With each passing season, more and more players in the previous generation of the NBA are graduating into retirement.
Some of the most recognizable and dominant players of a beloved era (e.g. Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, etc.) have recently ended their professional playing careers.
As the league begins to look increasingly different every year, we decided to look at which players drafted before 2011 are still active in the league. There are only 30 players who fit those qualifications and only 19 have started more than one game this season.
Here is a look at each NBA draft class and who remains active years later.
All data is provided via Stathead and is accurate as of publishing.
Jalen Green snapped his recent slump with 23 points and six 3-pointers, but it couldn’t offset a scorching night by Suns guard Eric Gordon in his return to Houston.
HOUSTON — On the second night of a back to back — and the second game of the longest homestand of the season at Toyota Center — the Rockets (15-14) were no match for the star-studded Phoenix Suns (15-14) in Wednesday’s 129-113 loss (box score).
On this night, Kevin Durant was often a facilitator with 16 assists, and former Rockets guard Eric Gordon (who spent nearly seven seasons with the team) was among the chief beneficiaries. Making his first return visit as a player since being traded last February, Gordon received a tribute video from the Rockets in the opening minutes before quickly showing his old team what they no longer have.
Gordon scored 21 points in the first half, shooting a blistering 8-of-11 from the field (72.5%) and 5-of-8 on 3-pointers (62.5%). That stunning turn-back-the-clock performance by the 35-year-old allowed Phoenix to play from in front, and it coasted to a win. Gordon finished with a season-high 27 points and seven made treys.
Durant had 27 points (56.3% FG) and 10 rebounds to go with those 16 assists, which tied a career high for the future Hall of Famer. Devin Booker, also a frequent All-Star, added 20 points and 7 assists.
Houston’s defense was lethargic, and the absence of veteran wing Dillon Brooks (right oblique strain, return timetable not yet known) was clearly felt. So, too, was the absence of Jabari Smith Jr., who left early due to a left ankle sprain (return timetable also unknown).
Yet, even in defeat, there was a bright spot: Jalen Green. The third-year guard entered shooting a woeful 33.6% overall and 25.4% on 3-pointers in December — but on this night, Green scored 23 points in 26 minutes while making 6-of-12 on 3-pointers (50.0%).
Big man Alperen Sengun finished with a team-high 24 points in 29 minutes, shooting 9-of-18 overall (50%) and 5-of-6 on free throws (83.3%). With injuries mounting, rookie wing Cam Whitmore took advantage of his first NBA rotation minutes and scored 12 points in 18 minutes, shooting 3-of-4 from 3-point range (75%).
Here’s our look at Wednesday’s highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. As the homestand continues, next up for Houston is a matchup versus the Philadelphia 76ers (20-9) on Friday night. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Central.
