Jonathan Isaac Practicing With Lakeland Magic

The Magic have assigned forward Jonathan Isaac to their G League affiliate in Lakeland for practices as he moves closer to an NBA return, writes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.

Price describes it as a “significant step” in Isaac’s return-to-play process, noting that it will be the first time the 25-year-old will get to play 5-on-5 against other basketball players during his injury rehab. Isaac has been doing some 5-on-5 work with Orlando’s coaching staff when the Magic are in town, while primarily doing individual workouts while the team is on the road, Price explains.

Isaac tore his ACL in 2020 and suffered a setback earlier this year, undergoing a minor procedure in March. He last played in an NBA game on August 2, 2020 in the Walt Disney World bubble, 856 days ago.

That ACL tear occurred in his second game back from another major left knee injury, which had kept him on the shelf since January 1, 2020. In other words, Isaac has appeared in just three NBA games since the calendar turned to 2020, and sustained major injuries in two of those games. It’s no wonder then that the Magic have proceeded extremely cautiously with his return to the court this fall.

Although Isaac is entering one of the final stages of his recovery process, there’s still no specific timeline for his season debut, according to Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com, who says that will depend on how the Magic forward responds to the G League practices and continued treatment.

A talented and versatile defender who averaged 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in his abridged 2019/20 season, Isaac is earning $17.4MM this season and is under contract for two more years at the same price. His 2023/24 salary is partially guaranteed for $7.6MM, while his ’24/25 cap hit is non-guaranteed.

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