What bringing back Moe Wagner, extending Jonathan Isaac means for Magic

With Moe Wagner ‘s re-signing and the reworking of Jonathan Isaac ‘s deal, the Magic will look very much the same in the frontcourt next season.

Wendell Carter Jr. is the projected starter with Wagner as his primary backup. Goga Bitadze , who started when Carter missed 20 games with a left hand injury, is the third center after he agreed to terms on a new deal Monday.

Isaac, 6-10, can play the 5 in a small-ball lineup but primarily functions as a 4/3 thanks to his improved 3-point shooting from the corners (44.6%).

He was entering the final year of his 4-year $69.9 million rookie contract extension he signed in December 2020. His $17.4 million salary for the 2024-25 season was non-guaranteed but would have become fully guaranteed if he’d remained on the roster past Jan. 10.

The Magic picked up his guarantees previously and likely would have done so again, but the franchise had the cap space necessary to renegotiate the $17.4 million salary and secure his future here on a 5-year, $84 million contract renegotiation and extension with Isaac, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Sentinel.

His new annual salary is expected to decrease in the following years, softening the cap hit.

The extension came shortly after Wagner, 6-11, agreed to a 2-year, $22 million contract to return to Orlando, where he’s spent the last three full seasons.

The franchise had declined Wagner’s club option this past weekend, which made him an unrestricted free agent when NBA free agency opened Sunday night. The Sentinel reported that both sides were interested in continuing discussion this week in striking a new contract to keep Wagner alongside his younger brother, Franz Wagner.

Even after the Magic agreed to terms Monday with Bitadze on a new 3-year, $25 million contract, the mutual interest between Wagner and Orlando remained the same, a league source said, and the deal was struck Tuesday.

The expected agreement between the Magic and Wagner brings Orlando’s roster to 14 out of 15 standard contracts.

By declining the second year of his 2-year, $16 million contract, which he signed last summer, and agreeing to a new deal, Wagner also gets a pay raise of roughly $3 million per season.

And the backup center earned this year with his play for Jamahl Mosley’s squad.

While playing in 80 games (the most for him in a single season), Wagner averaged a career-high 10.9 points on a personal best 63.6% effective field-goal percentage  — a formula that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth more than made 2s.

Isaac also proved he’s worth investing in after appearing in the second most amount of games (58) for a single season in his career.

Averaging a team-high 1.21 blocks, he finished tied for 14th in the NBA. Altering shots on defense and finding his spots on offense, he averaged 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds during 15.8 minutes.

Among players who appeared in at least 58 games and defended against 6.1 field-goal attempts per contest, Isaac lowered opponents’ accuracy when he defended them by 6% (down from 48.1% to 42.1%), according to NBA.com.

By bringing back Wagner and Bitadze and extending Isaac, Orlando indicates it feels strongly about the strength and versatility of its frontcourt alongside Carter.

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com