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.
Preparing for Jonathan Isaac’s Return
Franz Wagner
Franz Wagner has been a revelation since the Orlando Magic drafted him in July. He has surprised a lot of people.
The former Michigan Wolverine is currently averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 44.0-percent from the field and 36.5-percent from three. He has quickly become a fan favurite thanks to his intelligence on the court, solid defense and some eye-catching dunks thrown in for good measure.
Wagner has a great combination of size, skill and speed and can handle the ball well for someone of his size at 6-foot-9. He can create for others with his passing ability and has already showcased a wide variety of ways to score, quickly establishing himself as one of the Magic’s most dependable players.
With all that considered, there is absolutely no reason to take Wagner out of the starting five when he has performed so well already in his young career.
Often, rookies can benefit more from being used in a bench role to start their careers, giving them the opportunity to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NBA and develop their games against weaker second unit opposition.
But Wagner does not need that. His diverse skill set allows him to play the 3-spot extremely well despite his size being more suited to the 4 and he fulfills the modern NBA requirement of spacing the floor at the position thanks to his shooting capabilities.
While the Magic have found some success pairing their two young centers together so far this season, it is not likely the end game for this franchise. They have long prided themselves on their versatility and having wings who could switch and defend easily.
Wagner and Isaac would make for a dangerous and devastating defensive pair.
With the 20-year-old developing as well as he is in his current role, it would not make much sense to take him out of the starting group to instead install Isaac at small forward.
Preparing for Jonathan Isaac’s Return
Wendell Carter
After playing center for the vast majority of his NBA career prior to this season, Wendell Carter has finally gotten his wish — one he first expressed while with the Chicago Bulls — to play the power forward position.
And Carter has shown some promise as a 4 rather than a 5 despite his role remaining somewhat limited. He is scoring 13.2 points per game this season, he has improved as a shooter from beyond the arc by making 35.7-percent of his attempts and he has continued to defend well.
But Jonathan Isaac’s return, albeit likely from the bench at first, will pose a difficult decision for coach Jamahl Mosley as to where Wendell Carter’s future lies.
Jonathan Isaac will not be used at the 5 aside from short-term lineups like the one with Franz Wagner at the 5 in Monday’s game.
Isaac’s versatility and ability to defend the perimeter is too important an asset to have him at center, meaning if Wagner is to stay at the 3 and Isaac is to play the 4, Carter will have to be dropped to the bench or moved back to the five.
At this point, it seems the latter option would make the most sense.
At 6-foot-10, Carter is not as big as some centers in the league but has already proven he can defend the bigger guys when required. Some of his defense against Nikola Jokic in the win over the Denver Nuggets earlier this month is a prime example of his ability to defend the post.
It might not be his favored position, but it is one he can play very well and might just give the Magic the best chance of succeeding in the future.
Preparing for Jonathan Isaac’s Return
Mo Bamba
It has been great to see Mo Bamba finally get an opportunity to show what he is capable of this season. After years of stagnation under Steve Clifford and the center having to battle injury and illness, he has finally established himself as someone who can make an impact on both ends of the floor.
Bamba’s ability to alter or block shots has never been in question. This year he is averaging 2.2 blocks per game and contests 10.7 shots per game according to NBA.com, which ranks him 15th among all players in the league.
He is quite clearly getting better with more opportunity but he is still playing catch up after years of being underused when Clifford was head coach.
There are still lapses in concentration on defense where he does not read the play quickly enough. He still has a long way to go to improve both his post defense and offense against better matchups.
The team is finally working out what they have in Bamba but his development continues to be a gradual process. The Magic opted not to extend Bamba, as they did with Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter and Markelle Fultz, deciding instead to wait until the end of the season to make a decision on his contract.
If a decision is yet to be made, Jeff Weltman and his staff will have to make up their minds soon on what the plan is for Bamba. At present, he is a decent rotation big who can alter and block shots and knock down a couple of his own at the other end.
Moving him back to the bench would be a difficult choice to make given that he is steadily improving as a starter, but Carter has so far proven more dependable on defense when played at the 5.
Having Bamba come in as part of a second unit — which needs more help — while ensuring he gets enough minutes to continue his development seems like the most logical step if Isaac can stay healthy when he returns.
The Magic simply have to make room for Isaac when he is available. He is the only player on the roster who has consistently proven he can do something at an elite level and while it is not an easy decision to make, it may well be that Bamba is the one to lose out when his teammate returns to full health.