The Orlando Magic signed Jonathan Isaac to a four-year, $80 million deal despite him playing only one healthy season during his rookie contract. He will be missing the entire 2021 season since he tore his ACL in the NBA bubble. He will return to court once he recovers.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Isaac signed the contract with Orlando ahead of the league deadline on Monday.
The 23-year-old was drafted by Orlando Magic out of Florida State in 2017 with the No. 6 pick.
On Saturday, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Magic had been awarded a disabled player exception worth $3.7 million, which will enable them to add another player through a new one-year deal, or by trading or claiming a player who has one season left on their contract.
Isaac has had to deal with a lot of injuries early on in his career. His hard work and determination have brought him back each time. He came back from a severe ankle sprain in his rookie season to lock down a spot in the starting lineup and help build a top-10 defense that ended Orlando’s playoff drought in 2019.
The injuries stopped his career-best campaign, as he averaged 11.9 points on 47.0 percent shooting, with 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals while playing 28.8 minutes per game.
The Magic have tied a significant part of their future with him. They believe he will be fully back. They have definitely put financial backing to this belief.