BREAKING: Orlando Magic Forward Jonathan Isaac Ruled Out For 2020-21 NBA Season

The Orlando Magic will lose forward Jonathan Isaac for all of next season. Isaac is an emerging youngster, who’s defence might be a calling card towards high-level success. His offense is still developing, but he will not be developing on the court next season.

Isaac has struggled with fitness in his three NBA seasons. He missed time as a rookie due to ankle sprains, before playing a relatively solid 75 games the next season. However, this season has seen Isaac have to bad injuries in quick succession. Isaac first injured himself in January this year. He had a posterior lateral corner injury and a medial bone contusion in his left knee, which sidelined him for about 10 weeks.

He made his return in the NBA bubble, where he had a very efficient 16 points. However, he tore his ACL the next game against Sacramento and was ruled out for the season. That has now stretched out into all of next season as well. ACL injuries usually do cause players to miss a season or even more. Klay Thompson recovered from his ACL injury all season, while Kristaps Porzingis missed a season and a half recovering himself.

Orlando Magic without Jonathan Isaac

Isaac is a strong part of this rising Orlando Magic core. While the team has its own share of issues in terms of positional distribution, Isaac was one of the few bright spots Magic fans had to look forward to. His development is almost definitely going to suffer because of this injury, and his athleticism will come into question.

Next season is Isaac’s last year under contract before he can enter the 2021 Free Agency pool as a restricted free agent. If Isaac’s injury progress isn’t up to what the Magic needs, there is a high probability that he may not come back to the team after this. However, he is still young and has potential that the team can cultivate.

The only long-term contracts on the Magic are Aaron Gordon, Terrence Ross, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Nikola Vucevic. This allows the team to have the flexibility to rebuild if needed. From how the team looks, a rebuild might just be needed to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference.