MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The Orlando Magic always knew their day was coming. They always knew they would have to pay the piper for all the young players who were growing into their own. That is the nature of the league.
It was also that the Magic spent a lot to retain a lot of players already on the roster. The Magic were already feeling the pinch even before they entered the apron next year with Paolo Banchero's contract.
One contract that was feeling especially heavy as the Magic prepared to enter the apron belonged to Jonathan Isaac.
Isaac was an injury-riddled but game-changing defender who still held a lot of promise. Orlando signed him to a four-year, $70-million extension using a re-negotiate-and-extend structure in the summer of 2024.
The deal came with injury protections. His $14.5 million salary would become fully guaranteed if he played more than 52 games the previous year.
But that contract was only getting heavier as he played less and less and struggled to contribute on offense.
With Isaac at 51 games played this season, and dealing with a knee strain or knee soreness on the injury report the last three games, the Magic and Isaac are not dancing around the games played trigger to guarantee his contract.
A league source confirmed to Orlando Magic Daily that Isaac and the Magic agreed to change the trigger of his guarantee to June 28 rather than 52 games played. If he is on the roster past June 28, his contract will go from $6.5 million guaranteed to fully guaranteed at $14.5 million.
Bobby Marks of ESPN was the first to report the change to Isaac's contract status.
The Orlando Magic and Jonathan Isaac recently amended the salary protection for next season.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 8, 2026
The protection originally increased from $6.5M to $14.5M if Isaac played in 52 games or more.
The protection now increases to $14.5M if waivers are not requested by June 28.
The decision to change Isaac's contract seems to be a sure sign that the Magic will waive Isaac at the end of the season, giving the team some major savings heading into their first year in the luxury tax.
It is a frustrating way for the Jonathan Isaac odyssey to end after he was Jeff Weltman's first draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
A constant struggle
The Orlando Magic drafted Jonathan Isaac because of his potential as a versatile wing defender. But injuries followed him almost immediately, playing only 27 games in his rookie season because of an ankle injury.
He had a breakout season in the 2020 season, stepping in amongst injuries to starters early in the season. He was a terror on defense. But a lateral corner injury in his knee knocked him out in early January. He returned in the Bubble in August of that year, only to tear his ACL.
Isaac would miss the next two seasons, even suffering a second knee injury as he was preparing to return from the ACL injury.
He would not step onto the court until late in the 2023 season, appearing in 11 games.
His defensive impact was still apparent, but he struggled to find his offensive footing. And the fear of his knee injury was always hanging in the background.
Isaac played in 71 games in a fully healthy season in 2025. But the decision to put on more weight to make him more durable slowed him down and made him less effective on defense. He averaged only 5.4 points per game and 2.0 "stocks" per game. He shot only 25.8 percent from three.
This season has been even worse.
Isaac is averaging 2.6 points per game in a career-low 10.2 minutes per game. He is shooting 42.6 percent from the floor and 18.4 percent from three.
It is hard to justify paying $14.5 million for that little production. Especially when the team is entering the tax next season.
With Isaac having played 51 games, the Magic were at a decision point. It was either agree to this amendment or sit Isaac out for the rest of the year. It seems clear that the Magic will be moving on from Isaac in the summer.
Major savings
At the end of the day, this is a move that is about dollars and cents. And the Orlando Magic will be increasingly making similar moves to navigate the tax and the aprons to keep their team together and improve it.
The truth is that Jonathan Isaac's contract was becoming an albatross around the team's neck to make future moves.
Reducing Isaac's cap sheet amount from $14.5 million to $6.5 million next season brings the team's estimated payroll to $207.6 million. That would take the Magic $2.4 million beneath the first apron. That would give the Magic a little more flexibility to make signings in the offseason, but not much.
The move would also save the Magic not just the $8 million they would not pay Isaac if they cut him this offseason, but also an additional $8 million in tax payments.
Orlando is also preparing for Anthony Black's future extension. The team has to plan to spend more to retain its players. And that is already leading to some difficult decisions for the Magic.
This decision is clearly the first of many the Magic will make to manage their cap and set their future up.
Isaac will now have the freedom to play the rest of the season and contribute to the team's playoff chase -- he still has a role to play in that. And the Magic can now plan their future and get off a contract that was making it difficult to do much of anything in the transaction windows.