Orlando Magic: 3 goals for Jonathan Isaac in 2018-19
By Luke Duffy
Jonathan Isaac is one player the Orlando Magic need to make strides his second NBA season. Here are three goals for him to achieve in 2018-19.
For the Orlando Magic, this coming season will continue to be one in which they need their young players to continue growing. They can expect this from forward Aaron Gordon, who was signed to a contract extension this summer.
With rookie Mohamed Bamba, it will be more a case of allowing him to play as much as possible and make all of the mistakes expected of young players. Jonathan Isaac, however, falls somewhere in the middle.
Only entering the second year of his professional career himself, he will not be expected to lead the team in the same way Gordon will. With that being said, he will have to show that he is further along in his development than Bamba.
That makes this year a big one for Isaac, especially with Orlando looking like they’re about to get more serious about winning games and being competitive in the near future. Another trip to the lottery may be looming, but rebuilds wait for no player.
If things begin to take shape with Gordon and Bamba occupying two of the starting spots in the froncrout, and Isaac can’t fit on the wing, it will leave him in a difficult position — on the outside looking in while their young core grows without him. The Magic also have no problem moving on from young players, as Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo know.
There may be a new front office entering its second year in charge after making Isaac its initial lottery pick, but Orlando can’t spend much more time being this irrelevant. With that in mind here are three goals for what is a sneakily important season in Isaac’s development.