NBA Trades: Should the Orlando Magic trade Jonathan Isaac?
By Luke Duffy
What has Jonathan Isaac done on and off the court for the Magic?
But fairly or not, Isaac is more closely linked to Mohamed Bamba (who also has injury concerns and has struggled for consistency once more), than he is with picks like Anthony, Suggs, and star in the making Franz Wagner. He is also under contract until 2025 and is in line to make just shy of $70 million on his current deal.
What has that netted the Magic so far? Some unquestionable moments of defensive brilliance, but only 136 games (106 starts) across three seasons, with averages of 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and a paltry 33 percent from deep. That last number is important, as Isaac was seen as a floor-spacing big with tremendous defensive potential.
Considering Zion Williamson (who has been a health risk since the day he was drafted) has played only 85 games total in his career, it is fair to wonder if the durability of Isaac is always going to be an issue.
At this point, it already looks like it is. There is also the off-the-court stuff, which we are not going to break down in detail here, but needs to be mentioned.
Being outspoken about various issues is no problem, everybody is entitled to their opinion. It just becomes a bit trickier to navigate when there has been a lot of talk about many tough to tackle topics, but no on-court consistency to detract from this talking. Deciding to write a book at a time when his ACL rehab is taking a worryingly long time also doesn’t look fantastic.
Even if Isaac spends day and night rehabbing, and wrote in his spare time, as he is entitled to do, at this point in time, public perception has shifted so much that casual fans know him for what he has done and said off the court, not on it. This is not a position the Magic want to be with the player as they look to get better.