Orlando Magic have lineup options in bringing back Jonathan Isaac
By Dan Bennett
It feels like an eternity since we last saw Jonathan Isaac play in an Orlando Magic uniform.
The 24-year-old was playing at an elite defensive level prior to his first knee injury — a posterior lateral corner injury and a medial bone contusion suffered in January 2020 — and briefly returned to the lineup in the Orlando bubble before tearing his left ACL and meniscus against the Sacramento Kings in August 2020.
Clearly, the Magic are being extra cautious with Isaac and that is putting it lightly. But at some point this season we will see him make his return to the court, with the long-term view of reintegrating him into the starting lineup.
Injuries have disrupted Isaac’s young career but his ceiling remains extremely high.
It is not an exaggeration to say he could be one day be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. And there have been flashes on offense which suggests there is two-way potential also. The Magic at least continue to promote that Isaac’s shot has improved while he has rehabbed — and if his brief burst in the bubble was to be believed, that may certainly be true.
Jonathan Isaac’s long-awaited return to the Orlando Magic starting lineup means one of the existing starting frontcourt players will have reduced minutes.
Isaac may still integrate slowly back into the rotation considering how much time he has missed and the caution the Magic are playing. But the long-term view clearly has the team playing Isaac big minutes once he is healthy and fully integrated.
Orlando has had a settled frontcourt rotation this season with Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter and Mo Bamba. But the Magic have invested a lot into Isaac at $17.4-million per year and clearly see him as a future franchise cornerstone if he can stay healthy.
It means one of the starting frontcourt players will have to take a backward step in the rotation in order to accommodate Isaac into the lineup when he is fully healthy.
The Magic may still have some time before they have to drill down on this decision and the players will certainly sort themselves out — just as they will have to rebuild or build chemistry once Isaac returns. But Orlando will have some decisions to make when Isaac returns.