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1 reason why the Orlando Magic re-signed each of their free agents

The Orlando Magic were expected to throw some weight around in free agency. Instead they used it to bring back most of their own free agents. Here is one reason why it made sense for each player.

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic spent most of their offseason bringing back their depth and re-signing their own players. It may not have been the most exciting thing to do, but there was a reason the Magic invested in their own.
The Orlando Magic spent most of their offseason bringing back their depth and re-signing their own players. It may not have been the most exciting thing to do, but there was a reason the Magic invested in their own. / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
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Jonathan Isaac: Financial Flexibility

Jonathan Isaac was not a free agent this summer, but the Orlando Magic still did some work to ensure he stayed with the team long-term. The team's unique renegotiate-and-extend deal with the forward ensures the Magic keep one of their most impactful defenders.

But more than that, it ensures the Magic keep a key player on an affordable contract and maintain tons of financial flexibility for the trade markets ahead.

President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman has long warned the Magic know their team will not be so affordable soon. There are big contracts to hand out to Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner in the next year and Paolo Banchero soon after them. Even though the salary cap should continue to increase, there will be some sticker shock on those contracts.

Ensuring the Magic keep an impactful player at a bargain price—a five-year, $84 million is an average of $16.8 million but the structure of the deal likely means Isaac makes $12-13 million in the final year of the deal—is going to be valuable for the team.

More than that, Orlando's next big move is likely to be one that brings in the big fish fans wanted all along this offseason. Orlando spent its offseason aligning its contracts to make that big move. The Magic have depth, big contracts to move and all of their draft capital when they feel ready to push their chips in.

Getting an elite defender like Isaac on an affordable deal knowing the impact he can make when he is healthy is incredibley valuable.

There are injury protections likely written into the contract. But Isaac showed when he played how dominant he can still be on defense. Everyone spent the end of last season plotting how to get Isaac more minutes and maximize whatever time they could get with him on the floor.

The Magic have to hope that Isaac's first healthy summer since 2019 will net some gains and make them feel more comfortable to release some of the injury restrictions that followed him throughout the 2024 season.

Isaac gives the magic a ton of flexibility now on the court, but just as much off of it.

Next. Orlando Magic bold move 07.04.24. Orlando Magic must still make bold move to reach contender status. dark

It might have been a fairly quiet summer for the Magic in terms of new-player acquisitions. But the Magic have set themselves up to make some steady improvements.

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