After a rollercoaster last season, which has remained the only constant throughout Jonathan Isaac's career, the Orlando Magic should look to trade him sooner rather than later.
Isaac has not lived up to the player that the Magic had drafted him and even extended him on multiple occasions to be. According to President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, the team is in a 'win-now' window, and Isaac is likely not a part of that equation.
Injuries holding back Jonathan Isaac
Going back to the 2023-24 season, Jamahl Mosley and this Magic group ascended into one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. It helped propel this team to a top-five seed in the East and make the playoffs for the first time in the Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner era.
This was a monumental season for the Magic in many ways, and Jonathan Isaac was a huge contributor to their success. What made it that much more impressive was the fact that Isaac had missed two and a half years before the 2024 season, rehabbing from multiple injuries, and still came back to play in 58 games.
Isaac reminded the world why he was such a valuable asset as a Swiss Army Knife defensively, and he even shot a respectable 37.5 percent from 3-point range, which was the second-best mark of his career.
Orlando rewarded Isaac with a five-year, $84 million contract renegotiation and extension in the 2024 offseason, and that now looks like a huge mistake by the front office.
Jonathan Isaac's inconsistencies
One can make the argument that Isaac's versatility and defensive prowess earned him that contract, and rightfully so.
But as cliché as it may seem, the best ability is availability, and that unfortunately has not been the case for Isaac throughout his career.
Last season was a big test for Isaac to live up to the hype of his newly earned contract, and that couldn't have gone any worse than it did. Isaac came into the 2025 season weighing roughly 250 pounds, according to him, to bulk up and add more muscle, and that experiment drastically failed.
In the 2024-25 season, Isaac averaged 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, shot 41.4 percent from the field, and had the worst 3-point shooting percentage of his career at 25.8 percent. Isaac was healthy, to his standard, played in 71 games, and yet he still struggled mightily.
Once again, yes, you can make the case that almost every Magic player last year regressed due to key injuries to Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, and Jalen Suggs. But with a 71-game sample size where his minutes slightly dropped from 2024 (15.8) to 2025 (15.4), you were still left desiring a lot more from Isaac.
Out of the Magic's rotation
It's been very evident that Isaac has appeared to slowly slip out of the rotation and that he's getting pushed further and further down the depth chart, dating back to last season.
Not only is Isaac essentially a non-factor on offense, especially on catch-and-shoot threes, but he's appeared to have lost a step defensively and doesn't appear to have the same impact he once had.
For whatever it's worth, Isaac only played in seven minutes in the season-opener against Miami, recording zero points, one rebound, missing his only field goal attempt from 3-point range, and had the worst net rating, finishing with a -37.5 rating.
Orlando has plenty of talented bodies that can not only be relied upon night in and night out to play, but more importantly, to make an impact. Tristan da Silva appears poised to take a year two leap, Noah Penda could be a younger and potentially better version of Isaac, and when Moe Wagner returns from injury, it's going to be hard to justify playing Isaac consistent minutes.
Given Isaac's expensive contract for a player who isn't as reliable as you'd like, hasn't had the same impact as before, and for whom you have more talented options, the Magic should consider trading Isaac before it's too late.