Jonathan Isaac ready to show what comes next for Team USA, Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic’s future banks on Jonathan Isaac’s continued development. In the Blue-White Scrimmage for Team U.S.A., he will get to show off.

Team U.S.A. hit a rut this year. Their 20-man roster got reduced in half with withdrawals as many players cited their focus on the 2020 season as a reason not to represent the country at the FIBA World Cup.

There were several factors to this. FIBA’s decision to move the tournament to the year before the Olympics created a jammed schedule for everyone — including the non-NBA players who had to qualify during the regular season — was a big factor. Then there was the summer of upheaval the league just experienced. Players legitimately feel like they can win the title again and they have to get ready for new teammates.

There is a lot of hand-wringing over the roster the United States is sending over. It probably will not mean the team will send a similarly weakened team to next year’s Olympics. For the U.S.A., the Olympics carry a bit more prestige.

Team U.S.A. is still the prohibitive favorite to win. Led by Kemba Walker and Donovan Mitchell, this is still a team that will light up defenses.

As they wrap up training camp, they will get the chance to show just how strong they still can be. With exhibition games scheduled for Los Angeles and Australia in the next few weeks, the team will come together.

Their final act in Las Vegas will be about what comes next for Team U.S.A. It will be about what the team is building for the World Cup and beyond.

For Jonathan Isaac it will be a preview of what is to come for him and the Orlando Magic. A small progress check for a player who figures greatly in one of the best up-and-coming teams in the league.

The Blue-White Scrimmage will be about the future as much as it is about the team heading to China. And everyone will be watching.

Already members of the U.S. Select Team are impressing. De’Aaron Fox got called up to the regular roster with all the withdrawals and has a real chance to make the roster — or at least travel with the team to the next phase in Los Angeles with both Marcus Smart and Kyle Lowry out with injuries at the moment. Derrick White has also gotten plenty of praise.

Jonathan Isaac has had his moments too. In the short highlights that have come out from the Select Team during practice, it is hard not to notice Isaac out there. It is not merely the prodigious wingspan.

The Select Team has gotten its licks on the national team in practice. As they always tend to do. The Select Team famous beat the Dream Team in a scrimmage in 1992 that galvanized the group. Not that they needed much with the talent disparities between the NBA players and the rest of the world.

This game Friday night will be a showcase for the Select Team players more than anyone else. The team will have less risk of injury in playing them before they go back home to prepare for their club season.

To say everyone watching the Magic is intrigued with what Jonathan Isaac looks like is an understatement.

Isaac had a strong finish to last season. He finished averaging 9.6 points per game and shooting a 49.9 percent effective field goal percentage (32.3 percent from beyond the arc. In the final 31 games of the regular season, Isaac averaged 11.8 points per game with a 53.1 percent effective field goal percentage (35.9 percent from beyond the arc).

Those are encouraging numbers. But for the Magic to take the next step they need Isaac to take the next step.

He is already a gifted defender and should improve as he better understands and reads situations. His length and athleticism will help him continue to terrorize on that end.

But it is his offense that is still the question for his growth and development. He showed some aptitude as a shooter. His 3-point shooting improved as the season went on. But he was still largely relegated to the last option on offense. He had a 16.3 percent usage rate and he rightfully did not finish games to give the team the offensive punch from Terrence Ross.

Isaac still figures to be a big part of the team’s plans. They probably would like to see him bump his usage up this year as he continues to grow and develop. Just nobody knows what he could one day become.

Is he simply a high-level defender? Does he still have star potential? What are the upper bounds of his game?

This offseason was supposed to see him take that next leap in his game. Something similar to the leap a player takes between a rookie and sophomore year. The bounds of Isaac’s game are starting to get definition.

This will be the first time the public will get to see Isaac play in anything resembling a meaningful game. It will not translate directly — among the Select Team members, he, Derrick White and John Collins figure to be the primary scorers. Friday’s scrimmage will get to see Isaac play significant minutes and show off exactly who he is.

Or who he might be.

Isaac told Vegas Sports Daily he expects big things from the Magic. He said everyone has been working hard behind the scenes. Nobody really knows exactly how everything will come together or what this team will look like. They only have last year as a baseline.

To get better, it will take Isaac taking a bit of a leap. His development is central to the Magic taking the next step as a team from just making the playoffs to competing for something real.

The Magic and the rest of the world will get a taste of what Isaac looks like during this scrimmage. From there, we will see just how far the Magic grow.