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Fischer’s Latest: Centers, Vucevic, Davis, Sabonis, Isaac

November 26th, 2025 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

There will likely be several veteran big men available on the trade market ahead of this season’s February 5 deadline, Jake Fischer writes in his latest article for Marc Stein’s Substack.

As Fischer details, the Nets are expected to receive calls about center Nic Claxton, the Suns have made Nick Richards available since the offseason, and the Trail Blazers are considered more open to moving Robert Williams than they were last season. Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic is also expected to generate some interest from rival teams, per Fischer, though I’m skeptical Utah will be able to extract much of value for Nurkic, given his $19.4MM cap hit.

One of the more intriguing in-season trade candidates among frontcourt players could be Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, who has an expiring $21.5MM contract and has remained productive at age 35, with averages of 16.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game to go along with a .495/.407/.786 shooting line.

While Vucevic could generate interest on his own, Fischer suggests that rival executives have wondered whether the Bulls might make a play for a big man like Anthony Davis of the Mavericks or Domantas Sabonis of the Kings, given all the expiring money and cap flexibility Chicago has at its disposal.

Here are a few more highlights from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up:

There’s an “expectation in some corners” that Davis and his representatives will seek a contract extension if he’s traded to a new team in the coming months, Fischer writes. Davis’ current maximum-salary contract with the Mavericks runs through 2026/27, with a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. If he hopes to lock in another lucrative deal that would begin in 2028, when he’ll be 35, Davis would probably have to stay relatively healthy and play at his usual All-Star level this season after he returns from a calf strain.
Fischer is skeptical that the Warriors will be a major factor in any Sabonis sweepstakes, pointing out that Golden State would have likely have to add multiple quality role players to Jonathan Kuminga‘s $22.5MM contract in order to match Sabonis’ $42.3MM salary. The Warriors did show interest in Sabonis before Indiana traded him in 2022, but Fischer doesn’t think the club is desperate enough to “tear up its roster” for the Kings big man at this point, especially since he’s not a floor spacer or rim protector.
According to Fischer, rival cap strategists believe the Magic‘s cap situation may force the team to part ways at some point with forward Jonathan Isaac, whose four-year, $59MM contract is partially guaranteed in 2026/27 and non-guaranteed beyond that. While it’s unclear whether Orlando would make Isaac available during the ’25/26 season, he’s a name worth keeping an eye on, Fischer says.

Paolo Banchero Suffers Left Groin Strain

November 13th, 2025 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

2:20 pm: An MRI confirmed that Banchero has a left groin strain, tweets Shams Charania of ESPN. According to Charania, the forward has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn and will continue to be evaluated daily beyond that. The update suggests that Banchero avoided a major injury.

7:45 am: The Magic‘s 17-point win in New York on Wednesday was the team’s most impressive victory of the season, but it came at a cost. Star forward Paolo Banchero exited the game in the second quarter due to a left groin strain and didn’t return. He told Fred Katz of The Athletic that he sustained the injury after trying to accelerate up the floor following a defensive rebound.

“I just slowed up, and I felt it right away,” Banchero said. “And then, I did a couple more trips up and down, and then, it was still there. So I asked to come out because I didn’t wanna risk further injury.”

Banchero confirmed that he’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but he’s hopeful that it’s not significant. As he pointed out to Katz, he wasn’t in nearly as much discomfort on Wednesday as he was when he suffered an oblique tear last season that cost him over two months.

“I dealt with an oblique last year, and that was a tear,” Banchero said. “And feeling it, it was kinda really painful to where I couldn’t really do much. I couldn’t really move much. This (groin injury), I can still do movements. There just was a pain there. (Trainers) said if it was torn or anything, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, that’s encouraging.”

Banchero, who started each of Orlando’s first 12 games this season, entered Wednesday’s contest with averages of 23.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 34.7 minutes per night.

Reserve forward Jonathan Isaac started the second half in Banchero’s place and is a prime candidate for an increased role if the former No. 1 overall pick has to miss time. Forward Tristan Da Silva could also earn a minutes bump in that scenario.

The Magic’s road victory over the Knicks pulled the team back to .500 (6-6) following a 1-4 start to the season.

Magic Notes: Suggs, M. Wagner, Bane, Isaac, Jones, Banchero

September 30th, 2025 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

As Magic guard Jalen Suggs continues to make his way back from a left knee trochlea cartilage tear that has sidelined him since January, the team is targeting opening night for his return, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said on Monday, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required).

Suggs had originally hoped to be back to 100% for the start of training camp, but now the plan will be to use camp and the preseason as a ramp-up period. As Beede writes, the goal will be to get him on the court in one of Orlando’s four preseason games before the regular season tips off.

Moritz Wagner, the Magic big man who is coming off a left ACL tear, isn’t quite as far along as Suggs, Weltman acknowledged on Monday.

“Moe’s timeline is different,” Weltman said. “He’s further away. You guys know there have been unfortunately a series of ACLs in the last decade of the NBA and an associated timeline with that. But you guys also know Moe Wagner. So, he’s not your normal guy. He’s attacking it. and we’re hopeful he can beat that timeline. What that looks like exactly is too soon to say.”

Wagner said he has gotten through the injury rehab portion of his recovery process and is now working on getting back into game shape, according to Beede. At the team’s first practice on Tuesday, Suggs was able to take part in “all of the non-contact drills,” per head coach Jamahl Mosley, while Wagner did many of the same drills but was “probably two steps back” of Suggs in terms of progress (Twitter links).

Here’s more on the Magic:

Adjusting to a new team after spending the first five years of his NBA career in Memphis has been “pretty easy” so far, Desmond Bane said on Tuesday (Twitter video link via Beede). “They’re such good guys that they make it easy to come in here and get our work done so it’s been good,” Bane said of his new teammates.
After appearing in just 11 games across three seasons from 2020-23, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac played in 58 in 2023/24 and 71 last season. Will that number continue to rise in 2025/26? “My goal this season is 82,” Isaac said at media day, noting that he dropped some weight in the offseason (Twitter link via Beede). “If nothing happens, if I don’t get any colds or sicknesses or anything like that, I should be fine to go 82.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday, including Beede (Twitter link), veteran point guard Tyus Jones said the chance to potentially compete for a championship was an important factor in his decision to sign with Orlando.
Star Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension in July, said it was an “amazing feeling” to lock in that deal and expressed enthusiasm about the moves the front office made to upgrade the roster over the summer. “I’m definitely happy with the moves the organization made,” Banchero said (subscriber-only story via Beede). “[They] brought in two great, experienced players (Bane and Jones) in here and drafted two great rookies (Jase Richardson and Noah Penda). So, [I’m] just excited to get to work with the group and get on the court and start building that chemistry.”

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Wizards, Giannis, Heat, Isaac

May 14th, 2025 at 9:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets were one of the finalists in the draft lottery but wound up with the fourth pick, dropping one spot from their pre-lottery position. However, Charlotte’s front office and coach put a positive spin on the outcome.

“Up until this moment, everyone just (had) a ton of anxiety, just waiting to see where we would be picking,” president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson told the Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone (subscription required). “But now that we know we are picking four, it helps clear some things up in conversations with other teams and continue the process as we are here with the draft prospects at the draft combine. So we are really excited.”

Hornets head coach Charles Lee expressed similar feelings.

“Excitement, clarity,” he said. “I think that this whole time, you are sitting and (wondering) what pick do you get? But I know talking to Jeff, talking to (assistant GM) Dotun (Akinwale) and the entire front office. They’ve talked about how deep of a draft class this is.I think they have a lot of the intangibles, in terms of great work ethic and great competitiveness, and they understand the team game and what it’s going to take to really impact winning at a high level. So, I look forward to kind of getting into the weeds with Dotun, and Jeff and the front office, and figuring out who is that next pick to continue to help us to build. ”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards had miserable lottery luck, falling from No. 2 to No. 6. “We started the day with zero, and we walked away with six. So that’s the mindset we have coming in,” general manager Will Dawkins told Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “We gained the sixth pick this year, and we also have 18,” he said. “So time to get back to work with our scouts.” The latter pick was the first-rounder acquired from the Grizzlies ahead of the trade deadline. Dawkins is apparently open for business if some team wants to move up in the draft or if the Wizards chose to seek a higher pick by packaging both of theirs. “We’ll look to move … but we’re very comfortable staying where we’re at,” Dawkins said.
Could the Hawks be a dark-horse candidate to pull off a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal? Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution believes the franchise should pull out all the stops to make that happen. Cunningham anticipates that the Hawks could offer the Bucks two of their three top players — Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels — plus their two first-round picks this season (Nos. 13 and 22) and up to three more first-round picks through the 2032 draft.
The Heat aren’t going anywhere — at least in terms of their local broadcasts. They have reached a multiyear agreement with FanDuel Sports Network to remain on FanDuel Sports Network Sun, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
Magic forward Jonathan Isaac appeared in 71 games, the second-most of his career, but he was far from satisfied with his season. His playing time was spotty, partly due to his offensive struggles. He shot 41.4 percent overall and 25.8 percent on threes. Isaac believes he needs improve his stamina, he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “Definitely inconsistent,” he said. “I started to feel a little better towards the end of the season, started to feel a little lighter, a little more agile. So, I’m taking that into the summer to just focus on my game, focus on really getting in shape, shedding some weight and kind of getting back to where I was before.” Isaac has three years left on his contract.

Magic’s Jonathan Isaac Earns $2.6MM Bonus

April 11th, 2025 at 7:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac appeared in his 70th game of the 2024/25 season, earning a $2.6MM bonus that will be tacked onto his $25MM base salary, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The bonus had been considered unlikely to be earned and hadn’t counted against the cap because Isaac didn’t appear in at least 70 games last season. In fact, this is the first time since 2018/19 that he has achieved the feat. The 6’10” forward, who tore his ACL during the ’19/20 season, saw the floor in just 103 total contests in the five seasons preceding this one.

Isaac has played a far more modest role this season than he did earlier in his career, averaging 5.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 15.2 minutes per game entering Friday’s contest. He continues to be an impactful defender in his part-time role — Orlando has allowed just 106.5 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, a slightly better mark than Oklahoma City’s league-best 106.7 defensive rating.

The Magic have one of the NBA’s lowest payrolls this season and will remain far below the tax line even after accounting for Isaac’s bonus, which will bump his ’24/25 earnings from $25MM up to $27.6MM.

Typically, when a bonus is earned in one season, it’s considered “likely” for the following season and is added to the player’s cap hit. However, that bonus for 70 games played wasn’t included in the contract extension Isaac signed last summer, which goes into effect in 2025/26, so his $15MM cap hit for next season will remain unchanged.

And-Ones: P. Gasol, Head Coaches, Tanking, Incentives

April 1st, 2025 at 10:33am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA star Pau Gasol is gaining momentum to become the CEO of the NBA’s proposed European league, according to a report from Eurohoops. Citing Gasol’s “strong links” to both the NBA and European basketball, a league source tells Eurohoops that the idea of the Spaniard taking on the CEO role for the new league has “universal approval” among the NBA’s governors.

A six-time All-Star and two-time champion in the NBA, Gasol played for FC Barcelona at the start and the end of his professional career, winning Spanish League championships in 1999, 2001, and 2021. He also compiled a lengthy list of accomplishments in international tournaments, winning three Olympic medals (two silvers, one bronze), a World Cup title, and three EuroBasket championships with Spain’s national team.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The Grizzlies and Kings currently employ interim head coaches and will be looking to name a permanent coach after the season. Tim Bontemps of ESPN breaks down the pros and cons of the jobs in Memphis and Sacramento, while Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers which other head coaches might be on the hot seat this spring, including Willie Green of the Pelicans and Chauncey Billups of the Trail Blazers.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic is the latest NBA writer to propose suggestions for how the league could address its tanking problem. Vorkunov’s ideas include having the lottery determine the top eight picks (instead of four), further flattening the lottery odds, and automatically assigning the two worst teams the fourth and fifth overall picks.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks highlights some incentive clauses in player contracts to keep an eye on during the season’s final two weeks, including Rockets forward Dillon Brooks ($1MM) and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle ($1.4MM) getting bonuses for their teams making the playoffs. Magic forward Jonathan Isaac must appear in at least four of Orlando’s final six games to reach the 70-game threshold, which would assure him of a $2.6MM bonus, Marks notes.

Magic Notes: Play-In Tournament, Fultz, Anthony, Isaac

March 29th, 2025 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

It’s been obvious for a while that the Magic are headed for the play-in tournament, and they officially clinched a spot with Saturday’s lopsided win over Sacramento, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. The 121-91 victory improves Orlando to 36-39 and extends its lead to 8.5 games over 11th-place Toronto.

The Magic got 63 combined points from Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Caleb Houstan and led by as many as 35 points. Coach Jamahl Mosley was happy about his team’s resilience after Thursday’s loss to Dallas.

“They responded the right way to the other night,” he said. “This group did a very good job of holding each other accountable and just continuing to play the right [way], first and foremost defensively.”

Orlando moved percentage points ahead of Atlanta in the battle for seventh place and the chance to host the play-in game for the No. 7 seed.

There’s more on the Magic:

Today’s game marked the return of Kings guard Markelle Fultz, who spent the last five seasons with Orlando, Beede adds. Fultz, who received a video tribute, remained a free agent for most of the season before signing with Sacramento in mid-February. “It’s known how I feel about Markelle, how we feel about Markelle, and what he does, what he means, who he is as a young man, as a husband, as a father,” Mosley told reporters before the game. “… All of those things about Markelle Fultz, I cannot speak more highly of a young man that I’ve ever been around.”
Cole Anthony missed his sixth straight game today with a strained left big toe. He posted “Back soon!!” on social media this week, but he still hasn’t been cleared for contact at practice, Beede states in a separate story. “He’s doing some individual things on the court,” Mosley said. “Just ball-handling, dribbling, light movements, all those little things.”
Jonathan Isaac has seen a sharp cutback in his playing time, averaging just 11 minutes per game since the All-Star break, Beede observes in another piece. The veteran forward, who’s averaging 5.3 PPG and shooting a career-low 26.2% from three-point range, acknowledged that he has to provide more offense to earn increased minutes. “I haven’t played well over the course of the season,” Isaac said. “I haven’t shot it well, haven’t played well overall. I’m not necessarily blaming anybody or mad at anybody but myself. This is where I’m at and I’ll be ready to play when my number’s called, provide energy and try to help this team win games.”

Southeast Notes: Risacher, Hornets, Lee, Isaac, Adebayo

March 22nd, 2025 at 11:42am CST by Earnest Marshall

Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher is making his case for Rookie of the Year honors with his recent play, Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Head coach Quin Snyder recognizes that the 19-year-old’s growth hasn’t and will not always be linear, but he has been an advocate for his rising player all year.

“I think it’s a strong case,” Snyder said. “You have to look beyond some of the quote, unquote numbers. Although, if you look at the progression, even in a statistical case, over the course of the season, it’s pretty impressive. That’s a credit to who he is, his talent and as a human being and his character, and he just embraces everything, whether that’s when he’s making shots or he’s not making shots. Defensively, he’s really a complete player, and he’s got a high ceiling.”

While Spurs guard Stephon Castle has emerged as the favorite for Rookie of the Year honors and Wizards big Alex Sarr might be ahead of Risacher too, the French wing’s improvement is notable and impressive. During his last 22 appearances, the No. 1 overall pick is averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 45.5% from three (4.9 attempts). In his first 38 games, he averaged 10.5 PPG and shot 28.3% from three (4.2 attempts).

“You can’t be serious if you don’t have him in the Rookie of the Year conversation,” teammate Georges Niang said. “I think his progression throughout the year, especially on a team that is winning and trying to make the playoffs, I think it’s been impressive what he’s been able to do. And for sure, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if he won Rookie of the Year because he truly deserves it.”

Risacher said it would mean a lot to him to win the award, but he’s firmly focused on improving and keeping Atlanta focused on the postseason.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Hornets are on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs, which would extend the NBA’s longest active streak without a postseason appearance to nine years. However, as Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, the Hornets are happy to play spoiler even if it doesn’t culminate in a playoff showing. “It just gives us confidence,” Miles Bridges said. “It gives us confidence knowing we can play how we want to when we are semi-healthy. Just imagine when we are fully healthy.“
Hornets head coach Charles Lee has taken a long-term outlook when discussing Charlotte’s ability to be competitive. He isn’t losing his cool during post-game news conferences, Boone writes in another story. “Human nature is to try to find the negatives, try to find the wrongs,” Lee said. “And that’s the easy thing to do. It’s the easy way to find some comfort. And the place that I like to live and the place that we like to live is finding the positives and what are the growth areas we have seen.”
Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is seeing limited minutes after renegotiating his contract last offseason to increase his 2024/25 salary and tack on four extra years. Isaac didn’t play in the second half of Wednesday’s game against the Rockets, the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede writes. “As we’re looking at these games as playoff-type ‘win the next game,’ you’ve got to look at matchups,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. Isaac is averaging 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in 15.5 minutes per game this season, though his 62 appearances are his most since 2018/19.
The Heat‘s current 10-game losing streak is one of the longest in franchise history. Regardless, Bam Adebayo appears to not be losing hope for the rest of the season with the team still in position to make the play-in tournament. “You can’t let go of the rope now,” Adebayo said, per HoopsHype (Twitter link). “To me, being a quitter is in your character — and I’m not a quitter.“

Southeast Notes: Suggs, Champagnie, Heat Injuries, Nurkic

March 4th, 2025 at 7:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With point guard Jalen Suggs out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley will rely more on his frontcourt players to create offensive opportunities, he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

“It’s going to be different handlers at different times of the game,” he said. “If we realize a team is fully aggressive picking our point guard up, we might have to play through our bigs. Wendell (Carter Jr.), Goga (Bitadze), JI (Jonathan Isaac), those guys being able to handle the basketball and get us into easier sets. If they’re not pressuring Paolo (Banchero) and Franz (Wagner), those guys become our point-forward play-makers. That’s going to be a big key but that’s also going to vary game-to-game as well.”

Longtime veteran Cory Joseph made his first start of the season in place of Suggs on Tuesday.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Justin Champagnie had his two-way contract converted into a standard four-year, $10MM deal by the Wizards on Monday. He’s been angling for a standard contract since going undrafted in 2021. “It means a lot,” he told Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “I’ve been working hard these past four years of my career, trying to get to this point, and I’m super happy. I’m super thankful. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity here to be myself.” He will earn $1.8MM for the remainder of 2024/25, well above this prorated minimum. The final three seasons of the contract will be non-guaranteed.
Jaime Jaquez (right ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Kel’el Ware (left knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (right ankle sprain) will miss the Heat‘s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers on Wednesday, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Undrafted rookies Keshad Johnson and Isaiah Stevens, who have been playing the G League, are expected to suit up for the NBA team to add depth.
After losing his starting spot with Phoenix and getting traded to the Hornets, Jusuf Nurkic is eager to reestablish himself, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I’ve been in this league long enough. I know what the situation can be and how it’s good for the player to change the situation and have a fresh start,” he said. “I have an eagerness and excitement for the game again. I can’t wait to play again on the court.” He’s averaging 7.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in six games with Charlotte.

Magic’s Franz Wagner Available To Return From Torn Oblique

January 23rd, 2025 at 4:26pm CST by Rory Maher

4:26pm: Wagner will indeed make his return from his torn oblique injury that caused him to miss 20 games, the Magic announced (via Twitter). Additionally, Howard will be listed as available after missing the past five games (Twitter link per Beede).

12:14pm: Forward Franz Wagner has been sidelined since December 6 — a span of 20 games — after tearing his right oblique, but he’s close to returning to action for the Magic, who have listed the former lottery pick as questionable for Thursday’s matchup with Portland, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.

Head coach Jamahl Mosley said Wagner “was able to go through shootaround (on Thursday morning) and is obviously progressing well so we’ll see what the day brings after this shootaround.” Speaking to reporters afterward, Wagner confirmed there’s a chance he’ll play tonight (Twitter video link via Beede).

“(The questionable tag) means that I might play, I might not,” the German said with a smile. “We’ll see how the day goes. But it feels really good. It was a long process and I’m not the most patient person.”

Wagner, 23, was having a breakout fourth season for Orlando prior to the injury, averaging career-best numbers in several counting stats, including points (24.4), rebounds (5.6), assists (5.7) and steals per game (1.7). He posted a shooting slash line of .465/.321/.881 in 25 contests (33.2 minutes).

On January 14, Wagner had his status changed to “return to competition reconditioning,” stating at the time that his muscle had fully healed and that he felt good, but he needed to get back in playing shape. It was the first significant absence of his career — he had only missed 13 total games in three seasons leading up to 2024/25.

Wagner’s return appearing imminent is certainly great news for the Magic, who went just 7-13 without him, including losing their last four games. Orlando is currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-22. The team has been dominant when Wagner is on the court (plus-8.6 per 100 possession), but has struggled mightily (minus-5.9) when he’s not.

Orlando has dealt with significant injury absences all season. Mosley provided updates on several other injured players on Thursday, according to Beede:

Goga Bitadze (concussion protocol) did some on-court work on Thursday to see how he’ll respond, but he didn’t take contact and he’s listed as doubtful Thursday.
Both Jalen Suggs (low back strain) and Gary Harris (left hamstring strain) worked out Thursday and the team will see how they’re doing afterward. Suggs remains out, while Harris is questionable vs. Portland.
Jonathan Isaac (illness) is officially questionable, but Mosley said he’s feeling much better and will suit up tonight.
Cole Anthony is also dealing with an illness and wasn’t at shootaround, but there’s a chance he could play if he’s feeling better in a handful of hours — he’s officially questionable.
Jett Howard (left ankle sprain) is questionable. He did some on-court work at shootaround.