Magic renegotiate and extend Jonathan Isaac on 5-year deal

While playing in the second most amount of games (58) for a single season in his career, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac showed what was possible for his future as one of the top defenders in the NBA when healthy.

After sticking with him through his various leg injuries that forced him off the court for two-plus years, Orlando believes in his potential, too.

That’s why Tuesday, Isaac agreed on a 5-year, $84 million contract renegotiation and extension, an NBA source confirmed to the Sentinel.

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

And it makes sense for the Magic to want to keep Isaac.

Averaging a team-high 1.21 blocks, Isaac 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.

That decrease in accuracy when Isaac defended an opponent’s attempts was tied for No. 1 in the league with Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, who won NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

With a new extension in place, the Magic hope Isaac can compete and stay healthy enough to play in the amount of games necessary (65) to one day win the top defensive award himself.

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com