Since the last time Jonathon Isaac stepped foot on a basketball court for the Magic, a lot has changed. Tokyo hosted a delayed Olympics, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry titles, and basketball is no longer played inside of a bubble.
The Orlando Magic haven’t done much of note in his stead, other than lose games and win lotteries. Even though their last #1 pick is on his way to stardom (which we’ll dig into later), the Magic have only cobbled together a 58-137 record over the past two and a half seasons.
Thus, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about Isaac just a bit. The last time he played, during the 2020 season before the ACL tear that has kept him out for the past two years, Isaac was in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks, all on career-high efficiency.
Isaac was a defensive monster, capable of single-handedly wrecking opposing game plans with his lanky arms, fast feet, and monstrous instincts:
This defense from Jonathan Isaac is tantalizing pic.twitter.com/MtAVlaBYM1
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) January 28, 2019
With the recent news that Isaac is nearing a return to the court, alongside some success in his first game back in the G-League, it’s fair to wonder if Isaac still has a spot in the league. Missing two years of anything is a long time. Missing two years in the NBA, however, can be like missing out on the age of the dinosaurs and waking up to see cities, coliseums, and cars.
Does Jonathan Isaac still fit with the Orlando Magic?
It already looks like the Magic have moved on from him. Sans Isaac, Orlando has done a lot of losing, with their awful play culminating in a handful of high lottery picks, including Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and most importantly, Paolo Banchero.
Banchero has been a force early in his career. He stepped in immediately as Orlando’s alpha dog, averaging 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game. It’s no surprise that Banchero is -1000 at worst on major betting sites when watching him make moves like this on a regular basis:
https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1611176482428317696
With Bol Bol, Wendell Carter Jr., Chuma Okeke, Moritz Wagner, and Caleb Houstan already fighting for minutes behind Banchero and the better Wagner brother, it’s hard to see a world where the team would scrap their current developmental plans and reorient their team around Isaac, even with his all-world defensive ceiling.
What about the rest of the NBA?
Around the league, however, there could be a whole host of teams chomping at the bit to trade for him given he only makes $17 million per season for the next three years. Game-changing defensive forwards don’t just grow on trees.
The Phoenix Suns are currently headed dangerously towards a free fall down the standings due to their poor health. If they offered their war chest of picks, they could likely pry Isaac away without giving up one of their core players. In doing so, they’d give themselves a tougher defensive identity without needing to rejigger their entire team.
Another team that could look the Magic’s way are the Sacramento Kings. Although they’re already on the upswing of a breakout season, Sacramento is still near the bottom in defensive rating this year in the NBA. A deal surrounding Harrison Barnes and draft capital wouldn’t strip the team of its offensive identity while providing them with more defensive pop.
A sneaky team to watch in the race for Isaac could also be the Dallas Mavericks. They’ve had to ride Luka Doncic hard for the past few weeks, and although Jason Kidd has given them a solid identity on D, the presence of Isaac’s shot-blocking and wing defense would help them generate easier offense in the minutes that Luka isn’t on the floor.
Overall, even though he’s been away from the game for a long time and the Orlando Magic have seemingly moved on, there are several teams that could make a move for Jonathan Isaac, in hopes that he can recover fully and give them a skeleton key forward to unlock their defensive potential.