Even after the Orlando Magic waived Jonathan Isaac on Saturday, there was a feeling that this would not be the end of his tenure.
It was not that there was no interest throughout the league. There were plenty of fan sites at least curious about Isaac, even if only at the minimum.
One of those teams was apparently also the Magic.
It was fairly clear even Saturday night that Isaac would be returning on a minimum contract. It was fairly clear that even after nine years, this was not the end of the Isaac story in Orlando.
The Magic made that official on Wednesday, signing Isaac to a minimum contract. His journey with the team will continue.
For fans, it is perhaps the least exciting move of the three for the Magic. The theme of Orlando's offseason after a frustrating season is once again about continuity. The team spent its offseason bringing back virtually the entire roster from last season.
Even the one veteran addition is a former player -- the guy whose trade kicked off this current iteration of the team back in 2021. There is plenty of familiarity on this roster. At least familiar to fans.
That is both the strength and weakness that has defined president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman's decade with the team. His greatest strength with the team has been his faith in internal development and continuity. His weakness is knowing when to let go, move on and add to the roster.
And that story is the story of Jonathan Isaac. A player with the potential you do not want to give up on, but also with seemingly diminishing returns.
Isaac's potential remains
The Orlando Magic have had to straddle two different worlds.
They are still a very young team -- they finished the 2026 season the third youngest by minutes played -- and so there is a lot of hope and belief in an unknown future. They are betting on internal growth and their young players helping to fill the gaps on the team naturally through their own development.
Especially while many of the holdover players from Rob Hennigan's tenure remained, any player with an elite skill became valuable. Jonathan Isaac was an elite defender. He changed games with his presence defensively.
The torn ACL in the bubble in the 2020 season derailed everything. He was out for nearly three whole seasons trying to recover. Even his brief return in the 2023 season showed hints of the elite and disruptive defender he could be.
In the 2024 season, Isaac was as dominant as ever on the end. He even finished ninth in Sixth Man of the Year voting. The Magic had an unbelievable 102.1 defensive rating with Isaac on the floor, 8.7 points per 100 possessions better than the team's sterling average.
Even after a plan to have him put on weight to battle backup centers backfired, Isaac's defensive impact remained. In 2025, the Magic had a 106.6 defensive rating with Isaac on the floor, 2.5 points per 100 possessions better than one of the best defenses in the league.
Isaac was clearly losing a step as he dealt with his weight, but the Magic were still better defensively with him on the floor. They posted a team-best 106.1 defensive rating with Isaac on the floor, 7.5 points per 100 possessions better than the team's average.
All the while, Isaac averaged 1.9, 2.0 and 1.0 "stocks" per game. Even if he is not the elite defender he was in 2020 or after he returned in 2024, he remained an impactful defender. He is still very good.
That is something that is hard to let go. Isaac can still be one of the best defenders in the league.
And before his knee sprain in March, Isaac seemed to be turning a corner after struggling to find his footing.
Isaac has had lots of opportunities
Of course, injuries have been the story with Jonathan Isaac's career. They are unavoidable.
Not just the ACL tear that cost him three seasons or the knee injury that followed. It was the sprained ankle in his rookie year. And it was now the scary knee sprain that cost him the end of this past season, including his postseason.
Those injuries have piled up. And his offensive game never got the chance to develop.
His elite defense often made up for his poor offensive contributions. This season, it could not.
His offensive contributions hit rock bottom at 2.6 points per game this past season and 18.4 percent shooting from three this past season.
This all happened while the Magic continually invested in that elite defensive potential financially.
Magic signed him to a four-year, $69.6 million extension despite his knee injury in 2021. They extended that contract for an additional four years at $60 million, giving themselves outs in case injuries hit by guaranteeing his contract the next year if he played in 52 games.
That is a lot of money to invest in someone inconsistent with his availability and struggling on offense. The pieces never came together.
Orlando took that exit ramp this year, changing the guarantee trigger to a date so that he could play. Ironically, he got hurt in his 53rd game and missed the rest of the season. They saved money -- both cap hit and tax payment -- by waiving him.
Perhaps what Isaac gives them is more valuable at the minimum salary than at $14.5 million. Orlando already lost the opportunity cost from trading him.
But the Magic cannot quite give up on him yet. They cannot quite give up on the elite potential of his defense. He was Weltman's first draft pick, after all.
But this is symbolic of the Magic's seeming stagnation.
He has all the skills the Magic seem to love and would theoretically work. But they have been waiting for all the pieces come together.
It is a sign of how Orlando believes in its development and its philosophy. And how it has trouble letting it go when it is time.
Isaac can still make an impact. At the minimum, his impact will likely feel greater without the weight of his contract around him. But it remains a symbol of how the Magic struggle to move on.
This is one last chance to see if it works.
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