Jonathan Isaac, in late January, had returned to the field after as much as a 2-year absence. The player of the Orlando Magic had ruptured his ACL in the “bubble,” and from there the franchise had been very cautious, to put it mildly, in his recovery process. Even in previous seasons Isaac had in fact been very physically fragile, and relapses were to be avoided. For this reason, the player never took the court in back-to-backs this season and was being employed with still reduced minutes, just over 11′ average.
But last night came the worst possible news. After a few games of absence due to a muscle problem, Isaac had to undergo surgery to repair an injured adductor and his season therefore ended in March, after just 11 races played. A hard blow from a mental point of view as well, since the Magic wing was slowly regaining confidence on the court and will now be forced to another months of stop. The hope is to see Jonathan Isaac back next season, but Orlando may be going even more cautious now.
Isaac’s contract, signed a few months after his ACL rupture, expires in 2025 but as of this year is only partially guaranteed. That means his $17 million-plus salary will be due only in part if the Magic decide at some point to cut him. The earliest date is October 2023, but if Orlando were to cut him by then the guaranteed salary would still be $16 million. Different is the case for 2024, though perhaps premature: for the 2023-24 season, in fact, Isaac will have only $7.6 million guaranteed out of $17.4.
Milan. A graduate in Labor Management and Communication for Organizations from Catholic University, I founded BasketUniverso in 2011. Yes, I root for Orlando Magic and do my best not to hide it.
