Jonathan Isaac: The Defensive Monster & Analysing Free Agents On The Orlando Magic | Episode 172

Jonathan Isaac: The Defensive Monster & Analysing Free Agents On The Orlando Magic | Episode 172

[Applause] in order for the magic to work you have to truly believe in the magic hey magic fans and welcome to another episode of let’s talk magic an Orlando Magic podcast today we are going to be talking about possibly one of the biggest decisions that the magic have to make this offseason and that is what is the future for Jonathan Isaac but firstly GNA say hello to the boys I missed last week so Gary how you doing mate good to be back all the better for seeing the slice is B and on my screen how how is the H oh wa we had a we had a good weekend we had a good week away enjoyed the holiday and then unfortunately I as happens I got one of um my migraines and we all know the effects that they have it’s for those that you don’t know I have a form of migraine that presents like a stroke and it takes me out for three or four days so I was still slur in my words so I wasn’t suitable to be on the PO at a satellite G on a Friday night true and speaking of the Welsh Wonder G how you doing mate good to see you very well thank you mate it’s good to have you back Paul only for a week you were missed only for a week but that’s good enough that’s good enough yes we should we should come to that as we uh as we move on I got to ask you boys you how do you think you boys are going to do in the Euros because that’s upon us now you’re not going to be here next week so you gonna be watching no no I’ve don’t wa I watch leads I watch Mansfield Town Europe European football no not interested no I’ve got my Denmark Jersey ready for for hour game at least one team wearing red qualified yeah that’s true that’s true I you know what I I so wished that um the the election heing that went off this week where was it m Mr sunite Richi sunite asked the Welsh fans how they are they looking forward to the football I think that would have been hilarious if you’d have been sat there mate oh a moment of Comedy gold oh yeah yeah raging mate raging yeah the next time you’re hanging out with REI soon met your film us when you r at Checkers for the next time all right as you’ll notice we are missing Mikey this week he’s had to drop out late on um before we go any further I did miss last week and I just wanted to add my voice to what the boys said last week about the sad news awful loss uh to the magic community of Deb um it was as you said g an absolute pleasure to meet up with her and being her company which was so much fun um ahead of the 2019 Raptor Series games three and four I can’t say better than what was said last week just Deb rest in peace you will be greatly missed I wanted to just add my voice do what was said so sorry for jumping on there but uh it had to be said um so let’s get into this because I think it’s I think it’s could be be quite an interesting subject to talk around and that is what is the future for Judah um summer is full of decisions for the magic we’ve spoken about the trade market about free agency but arguably the biggest decision for the magic this time round is to decide on the future of Jonathan Isaac so kick things off same question for each of you quick answers are we keeping Jonathan Isaac Gary yes G absolutely 100% and oh would would oh yeah 100% I think the magic are keeping him 100% would if you were sat in the GM’s chair G are you would you keep Jonathan Isaac or would you be using him to land as something else oh no I I I’d certainly be keeping Jonathan Isaac he’s proved his worth you know um back end of the season defensive situations um he’s an absolute monster on defensive end I was really annoyed actually when it the awards were announced that I think he got like maybe one vote um obviously jayen Suggs made the second team which which was fantastic news um I know Jonathan needs to play more games and that’s something I’m sure we’re g to talk about a second oh and look forward to you know seeing next season um as we ramp up his minutes but he’s an absolute monster on the defensive end and someone who can you know who can cover positions as well and you can put him on anybody in the in in the league any position so uh to have somebody of that ability is someone you need around especially with a team that Prides itself on his defense you know y so yes absolutely Co Gary same question GM you’re sat in that chair are you keeping ji for the team yes with yes with an asteris love a good asteris explain away I think people’s got to realize that yes we want to keep Jonathan Isaac yes we want to keep jayen SS from V obviously PA vano but at some point if we are set on or there a superstar becomes available and Orlando’s in the race people are going to want things back and Jonathan Isaac one of the things that probably going to be on the you might find on the table because it isn’t going to be Paro because it’s it’s it’s going to be what you put alongside him so if I know we’ve all fantasized at the thought of LCA you know not getting out the first round and forcing his way to Orlando but yeah I think we’ve uh lost out on that one mate I think I think we might not be getting that but uh hypothetically if we’d had that situation where that was the dream for so many people y Dallas aren’t going to turn around and say okay well they know they’re not getting Bank hero but they’re not going to turn and go oh well we’ll not have we’ll we’ll listen to you guys we’re not going to like ask for for anything about France VG Jaylen sugs or jnan Isaac because that’s the next three most valuable players on the magic so it’s yes we keep them but we’ve got to be aware at some point if that does happen he could be one of the guys that’s on the table that you might have to say maybe and 22 minutes a night perhaps that might be the pill that you’ve got to swallow okay that’s that’s good but it leaves me nicely into what the first specific question that I was going to ask tonight Gary I’m going to ask you this okay it is can Jonathan Isaac remain consistently healthy yes he can but I don’t think you’re going to see Jonathan Isaac ever play 82 games in the season on 36 minutes a night so I think what we saw last season where he gets rested on backto backs I think that might be something we see going forward I think the magic would probably see I don’t know how many back-to-back games we’ll play next season but if if J played 60 games in the regular season at 22 minutes per night to 24 minutes per night I think the magic would probably take that I mean we last season he played in just to bring it up here 58 games yeah last season and that’s the second most in his career yeah you’ve already mentioned around the side of he could probably have played more if we’d have risked him in certain some minutes during back to backs but we chose not to um and that was all part of this injury maintenance can you see an argument that what we did with him last season isn’t going to be what we see in the next season that this season whilst it was about team development we could allow ji to play a few lesser minutes and work his way back in as part of this road to recovery I think there is that but I know I think me and G had spoken about this and in the playoffs against Cleveland where obviously the minutes are up and the intensity is up Etc I think me and G were on the same page with this tell me if I’m wrong G but I think gii was injured towards the end of that Cleveland series now I’m not saying ji was badly injured just watching the games and how we know GI players when he’s feeling well he’s usually got that double spring where he can get there for a second quarter block after he’s come down and that wasn’t quite there and in game seven there were Cleveland players getting by ji when they probably might not have when he’s 100% And I wonder if that’s a knock on of the demands of the season but also the playoffs and the intensity and the minutes that came with that so I think next season would probably start in a similar vein to how this regular season ended okay that’s that’s an interesting point G any thoughts on that no I completely I think Gary’s I think Gary’s now he has absolutely yeah well thank you yeah yeah good night thank you very much I’ll see you next week G so I’m gonna come to you now yeah and I think this this is probably the most interesting question around ji what is his role to be within theam well he’s so versatile that’s that’s the most important thing so you can put him anywhere um you know you could have him starting you could have him coming off the bench as Gary said about the minutes you know I I’d be looking for him to you know play 20 24 to 26 hopefully next season um obviously back to backs if he’s held out fair enough you know you just got to manage it so that he you know he’s fully uh you know capable of playing to his ability um so he can do absolutely everything situationally um I keep him you know with the reserves to be honest with you was it made such an impact um he’s going against lesser players granted but then he’s coming in for the last five six minutes of the game with the starters in that you know death lineup so for me um absolute key part of the team uh defensively uh and down the stretch so you’d like to see him play a bit more and with the starters but I kind of like what he what what he did last season um so yeah how about you Paul I I think we can all agree that um we saw against the Cavs that he he isn’t a natural Center Jared Allen atled him so I don’t think we see him as a center I don’t think we see though you could you can do um in certain lineups against certain teams I suppose or if a team is having um who was it there was one particular game I can’t remember who it was that literally had no big men left um during last season and we were really disappointed that we didn’t take advantage of it and I can’t remember the game but that’s an example where you can use him as a center but I don’t think we can look at putting him as a starting center or Reserve Center coming off the bench as the go-to position perhaps in in certain needs then it works but I don’t see it being um the go-to position for for ji he’s he’s a naturally a forward and you play I think you better play Somebody’s strengths he isn’t going to for me he isn’t going to start ahead of Paulo no and he isn’t going to start head of FR so you’re talking about somebody coming from the bench you’re talking about ji coming from the bench which goes to your point G that he in what he did last season in coming from the bench I think you can make a very good argument that he was a huge part of why the Magic’s bench was so effective in the league yeah absolutely so and again coming to your point about both of you said increase minutes and I fully agree I think we’ve got to see ramp up to 20 minutes 25 minutes a game um that would be amazing to see I would love to see ji being for want of a better phrase marketed as our go-to six man that is he is as six man um you look at the you know we we don’t need to preach about what he does on the defensive end Rim protection he’s he causes havoc in the passing Lanes he’s got it just disrupts everybody one through five he can genuinely defend and switch between any of the five positions uh to guard we’ve seen that multiple times we know that he brought an average of what was it 1.2 blocks per game um in playing 15 minutes season limited yeah limited yeah 50 just over 15 minutes a game superb figures he one of the things things I didn’t realize that his defensive plus minus I think it is is better than Rudy gz based on the minutes that he had um which which shows you the quality of the man on on the defensive end I think the thing that got overlooked with last season was his Improvement on the offensive end you know he shot was it 37% on the season from three MH and I think there’s some stats somewhere knocking about after Allstar it was even higher it was knocking up towards the 50% now I don’t think anybody expects J’s going to be a consistent 50% shooter from range but it’s a nice weapon to have yeah and if he he and that is helping to spread the floor which again then you can probably look at him not only being a go-to six man early in the game but as you’ve mentioned you can look at him being a finisher in certain situations um so I think we we play him as a Sixth Man and he is our go-to sixth man that he is that Lynch pin um and I’ll also say that if my ideal would be that we’ve always got either ji or jayen sugs on the floor for that defensive intensity you’ve got one of those two on at all times I could shout that I feel like I’ve hijacked the question I was asking you no you know make some good points that we didn’t pick up on mate so uh yeah I yeah I I just think I I think we we we look at if we can increase those minutes per game and we can increase his value Off the Bench then we have potentially a Sixth Man of the Year candidate if you can play enough games and you certainly have somebody who has to be considered in and amongst the old defensive s side of things we only have to think back to 2018 19 season we were all talking about the potential that he had to challenge for those accolades and the hope is we get some more National TV coverage there’s a bit more focus on on the magic and you know people start taking note who Jonathan Isaac is and what he’s capable of well I think that was one of the interesting things when we spoke with Alec Martins um the thing he was telling us there around how National coverage is decided and how that decided and there’s zero flexibility from the almost from the start of the season um but it’s something that they’re looking at changing and you only have to look at the magic we we gave the Cavs a damn good go in that first round I know that a lot of people consider it to be the most boring series of the first round that it was you know what was it the battle of the meds I think I saw it called um well if that’s that to me says you didn’t watch it because it was it was it it was an entertaining series from start it’s nice to be considered a mid as well though isn’t it you know yeah it’s better than um poverty joke franchise the Orlando tragic and all that sort of thing being rated as a mid is as you’ve said g that’s an improvement for us on where we were I don’t want to be mid them don’t be bad series don’t go seven games I quite agree Gary what’s your thoughts on J’s Ro it’s interesting what you were saying there Paul because I think traditionally when you think of a sixth man you always think of like like someone along the lines of like a Lou Williams Malik monk would fit that category now H Jordan Clarkson Etc Naas Reed won the Sixth Man of the Year this year and his role obviously he a center but when you look at what he does for the Wolves it’s quite similar to what gii does for the magic where he’s I would say he’s a power forward slash Center it comes into a onto the court usually for the Wolves when they’ve already got their rotation of towns and goar set but he’s very much a disruptor he does a little bit of everything he’s a good Defender he’s long he can all the things that gii does so maybe he’s redefined the role of the sixth man so maybe we’ve got like I I agree with you Paul about he’s our sixth man because he’s our best player off Off the Bench unit we know there’s reasons for that because we know that at one point Jonathan Isaac was the franchise for this team before the injuries kind of took it all away so I think things have maybe changed but we’ve got like a defensive player of the year level candidate coming off the bench to disrupt games disrupt teams he changes energy if you got Jonathan Isaac at 36 minutes per night the production we would probably get is somewhere I know if you take the per 36 minute stats and I’ve said them on the Pod but I think he’d probably give us something like 16 or 17 points a game now he’s got the experience in a better team double figures and rebound and over two blocks and he would have a massive impact on the defensive efficiency of a team I don’t think these are 20 points per game scorer despite what your 36 minute stats sometimes there when he but he doesn’t have to be to be an Allstar you know we’ve seen Allstar level players before like Rudy go who AR 20 point per game scorers but dominate things defensively so much well bad do in the regular season that it’s kind of it makes them valuable to that team’s record over 82 games JN and Isaac Off the Bench I think NZ Reed is pretty good comparison and I know that there’s a question coming up about being willing to peer him and which I think you’re going to come to but I think NZ Reed might be the uh starting point to think about there wasn’t Jarrett Allen an all St you see exactly what he does yeah yeah again I think that’s a great Point that’s a great point now I’m going to ask here this was originally going to be asked to Mikey so none of us have prepared or thought about this I’ll be honest with you so brace yourself Lads when you’re watching this and listening to this because this is completely unscripted from this point on this question we were gonna I was gonna ask Mikey about uh is the team willing to pay Jonathan Isaac this summer and what could his contract look like um and is he too important not to bring back now I’ve asked you both about the is he too important not to bring back or you bringing him back already I was gonna ask this because Mikey loves talking about contracts and the like um I mean I I’m I I am the self-confessed zero idea on how cap space and the light works and when you can sign people trade them and all these sorts of things and all the caveats that there are so I apologize in advance that I am not the person to be talking about this but so I think that ultimately we aim that the team aim to have a long contract with him that it’s front loaded to help us with the cap space subsequently that he gets money now and we we have one of those declining contracts that we’re so good at um and we give him a longer contract to tie him in G sorry drop you on the spot mate no that’s cool man I just what sort of what sort of contract do what do you think his contract could look like and are the team willing to pay what we may need to pay him to keep him yeah so he signed the for year it was about 6 between 68 and 70 mil contract back in 2122 that obviously runs through next season um obviously after that he’d become an unrestricted free agent um so he’s on the cap for 17.4 million next season I suppose you’ve got it almost look at it the magic have looked after him as well through through INRI loyal and the same same goes for marel I’m not talking about marel at the moment it’s just I’m obsess it’s cominging up that’s coming up don’t worry yeah yeah yeah yeah I couldn’t have an episode G for you where you’re on and not have some Marquel talking there um so he’s he is so valuable um but the NBA this this past week um agreed a deal uh I don’t have the figures or anything in front of me but with some new providers that’s obviously going to give uh the leue of boost so I can see the salary cap moving up um so obviously contracts are going to move go up as well so if you can get Jonathan um for 20 million for example yeah I don’t know if that’s it’s a fair um figure to come up with obviously you’ve got to consider the extensions that we’ve got coming up for Jaylen sugs and France Vagner The Following season will be Paulo who will definitely have a Max uh extension uh to his contract so we’re getting into that point that you know we’re starting to move all our chips in um so like you say getting him on a front loader contract that’d be ideal um with it declining obviously if he can take a bit of a a HomeTown uh discount that that’ be beneficial but I think if you’re paying up to 20 million for Jonathan you know and he gives you that productivity um year in year out then you’re okay uh now obviously the only issue is we’ve got you know he’s had injuries injury concerns you know and he’s beened significant time we’ve mentioned on the Pod many a time you know we’ve been carrying players who haven’t played you know 40 50 60% of the games um and we’re getting to that point now we’re not just um seeing how things go we want go out there and win every night so you can’t be carrying those uh guys so you need to be safe in the knowledge that he can play 60 games at least or something now I don’t know if you can put some sort of uh you know stipulation in the contract I don’t think it works like that in the NBA unfortunately but obviously that’s if I was a you know some I don’t think you get appearance money do you the same way you with with football I know that there was some sort of um if he missed game due to injury it doesn’t come fully guarantee something to that effect I’m no contract Guru um but anyway yeah something like that is what I’d think especially with the cap going up um so yeah Gary um I think it’s worth you you could have your go as well you may as well look embarrassed as the rest of us as Mikey’s dumped us and left us in the Lurch with this one I should have I should have blanked this question out and then moved on question so I’ve got a few views on this my first one is is obviously GI is Mak about 17 million a season on average through this contract Wendell makes about 12 and a half million per season through his contract on average Naz Reed makes a shade under 14 million per season under his contract um we’ve peered GI and haven’t really seen ji at times so I think for me the number would look similar to what the number looks like now about 17 million season which is a lot of money I could on it we’re not far off mate 20 and 17 yeah yeah but 17 million a season if we’re expecting him to play 60 games on 20 OD minutes a night I don’t think that’s bad going when you consider how long he’s been here and how much has been missed cap raising or not like if it goes up and it goes to 20 it goes to 20 that’s fine G that was a number that was in my head but I think that we’ve looked after GI yeah as a team and I’m I’m not just talking financially by the way there’s been some political stuff as well where he’s been backed by the we said this y yeah we have so I think 17 million for me is not a bad number um because of what injuries can do when you’ve got a long contract I would be looking at maybe three years and I’m not even I’m not even going to go into how it’s front loaded or not I think if it’s around 17 million tops 20 million over three years it’s fine like you know like for what’s being missed and what’s gone on I think that’s a fair number he’s what 26 at the moment so that’ll take him 30 31 and then you’ve got is finished you’ve got a if you’re fit and you’re 30 years old you’ve got a good contract waiting for you if youve stayed fit you’ve got a good four or five year deal waiting for you then yeah not a bad shout I just think it’s too important to the team for us to let him even Test free agency yeah I know I know we’ve got time to go yet yeah that’s why I’m wondering if we do look at doing something sooner rather than later mhm and whilst we can do it and before we get to that point where you’re looking at extending Paulo and you’re looking at extending FRS you’re in basically in Vegas PLL you’re in Vegas now because what you could look at is you could say we think Jonathan Isaac is going to be fit so what we’re going to do is we’re going to get Jonathan and Isaac on a contract now before he goes out and shows how good he is next season yep and bumps that number off of 25 million that’s that’s one way of doing it and we’re all saying every single bleach report trade ESPN or joke website that are coming up with trades are including ji as going as a piece from our team what was that one last week was it Zack LaVine for J such a joke who else was it have they realized he’s not a rook that’s like they haven’t been talking about us for years so T and H took her back in the deal how can we say no I mean that that one that one was such a joke uh I again as um as somebody put on it I expected it to be from a bulls fan site but it wasn’t it was some it was some website that reports to be serious reporting only way the only way we’re doing as if there some kind of crazy buyout happens doubt it’s gonna happen so why would you want him why would you want him in in the set that we have it doesn’t fit for me no that’s another conversation so I’ve really enjoyed that I think that’s been really interesting to get your views on before we move on I’m going to take a quick break and tell you about some offers that are currently running with our partners attraction tickets so when you’re looking for tickets and hotels to the world’s best theme parks and attractions remember to check out attraction tickets via the link from the description in this podcast or via our the link on our website the the UK number one attraction ticket provider for Walt Disney World Universal Studios SeaWorld Disneyland Paris and many many popular UK attractions also currently they are running a 10% off Orlando 2024 2025 attraction tickets with the code price drop there’s also um an offer running where it’s 42% discount off of early bookings for 2025 Discovery Cove you can also get the further 10% discount of that by adding the price drop both will apply for that so if you’re thinking of going 2025 and you’re thinking of doing Discovery Cove Now’s the Time to click on our website click onto the attraction tickets link and get your booking made can we pause this episode so I can go and do it now because I book for next year and I need to do that wait seriously it’s 42 42% superb Off on Discovery Cove and then you put the price drop and it’s another 10% they also provide attraction ticket attration tickets also provide Orlando Magic tickets at a hugely competitive price not at the minute until the schedule’s released so uh so when you’re booking your next holiday as G has recently done be sure to use a link from our website or in the episode description and see what they have to offer also don’t forget that we are still affiliated with Fanatics and NBA Store and we still have the M the uh Magic UK 10 code that gets you 10% off um that works on all Euro 2024 t-shirt t-shirt shirts or be your F1 merchandise if you’re into the Formula One Go Lando um you know so please don’t miss out okay second part let’s get on to this we’ve t as we said we’ve talked about free agency who we could bring in we’ve talked about trades the thing we haven’t talked about is our own decisions within the team the free agents that we have coming up uh the guys that are currently red to the team but assumed to be free agents and I’m interested to see who out of that group you would bring back and why so you’re both going you’re both going for this Gary do you want to go first mate have you got the list of free agents in front of you or would you like me to run through it you run through I’ve got it on my screen I’ll give you my uh two pence worth after I’ve okay I’ve got a theory so on the 2023 2024 roster for the Orlando Magic these are the guys that are approaching free agency there is Goa Bazi Marquel folz Gary Harris Kon Harris Joe Les chumo treving Queen Admiral scoffield and mo Vagner they are the guys quite a number of our roster that are that there’s decisions to be made on so G yeah sorry Gary both you both you both begin with a G I was just giving Gary a new nickname behaved it’s all right I’m not I’m not Welsh enough I’m not Welsh enough the northern [Laughter] G gunit um so I think if you were play in fantasy basketball people get lost off in like trade machines and silly trade Seasons upon us I’m not talking about magic fans here I’m talking about like just the mental stuff that you see on social media you’ll be going all well the magic you got x amount of salary cap room when all these guys go and look at all the roster spots we aren’t going to let all those guys go because we know that any magic fan not us any magic fan who pays attention knows that this team is built on team spirit it’s built on a culture that Jamal Mosley’s brought in the team gets on they like each other Etc so not all of those guys are going to go that that’s that’s the first thing my next thing is some shape or form Mo Vagner is definitely coming back we aren’t letting Mo Vagner go because he’s way too vital to our bench to the squad he’s one of he’s one of the guys who came out of the Season where he OV exceeded on what people were thinking and he made himself a valuable part of a bench unit we know he’s got defensive deficiencies but when you put him and Jonathan Isaac together one covers the other you know that type of thing I agree and you’ve got the relationship with France Vagner which he he’s not the like I know the Sixth Man Show have said a joke before about the France Vagner tax he isn’t that but he is his brother so he he isn’t going anywhere starters I think because Kon Harris didn’t feature last season I think he’s at risk yep I think Admiral scoffield is too vital to the team chemistry in the role he accepts to not be brought back we know that Admiral holds weight in that team so I think Admiral scor field will come back in some shape or form did Reed’s not eligible for a two-way this season so you’re going to have to give him a proper roster it might because I think when you look at it I don’t think tumer will be here I don’t think even though I don’t want to say this I don’t think Gorga bardi will be here because I think he might get a better offer from elsewhere more than what we’re willing to peer I think there’s question marks about Caleb Houston’s future with the magic when you’re talking about people seeing trading picks and stuff I think Caleb’s got a question if jet Howard is going to find way into the main roster rotation it could be at the expense of Caleb Houston I think there will be an offer made for a law contract for marel fols I don’t think it will be a high contract and I think if you if my name was Jones from Cardiff my my my worry would be that a team like San Antonio comes in and says this guy kind of fits our build it’s an old head it’s a good character Etc but I think folks did enough in the playoffs to get something coming his way the worry you’ve got to have is I can’t see us carrying a lord of injured players so it might be it’s Marquel or Gary Harris because they are going to probably show a low ball offer to one of them I happen to think that Gary Harris did himself no favors in the playoffs um I know he’s a veteran I know he divides the fan base a little bit but would you be totally surprised if Gary Harris ended up back in Denver I’ve been say it for ages but I could I could see that but we’re not going to let everyone go uh I think Jo Engles probably will be retained in some shape or form but maybe not on the contract that he’s on now he got a big he got a big deal last time round I don’t think there’s going to be a line for Jo Engles he didn’t perform that great in the playoffs but his veteran role in the locker room might mean he gets a lower contract offer than what he’s got I think that was the thing with Joe Engles for me I expected better points production from him than we actually got yeah we got everything else you know that great understanding that he formed with Mo Vagner MH the top class [ __ ] howery that he brought as well um yeah well Sor I don’t know descri what else do you describe that as explicit nature of his demeanor listen we always tag it he’s not made for kids anyway um I don’t know how else I describe it because that’s what it is um but and then his court Vision um you know just just short of three assists a game which I think you if you’d got more reliable shooting around that is probably a higher figure I think that’s actually a bit of a low figure based on some of the production that we saw from some of his passing as opposed to it being a genuine reflection of the um Quality passes that he made yeah so I think I think that’s the one thing I did expect better shooting from Joe Engles than we actually saw we expect we expected when we signed him everything you’ve said but a guy who could come off the bench and spread the floor and that didn’t happen to the extent that you would have wanted it to but maybe as well it’s a reflection of his age absolutely and the intensity of playoff basketball because he did dip in the playoffs absolutely Y no arguments now G yeah right okay well Gary’s done a very comprehensive job there I think that’s really excellent I’ve got to be honest I mean twice tonight he’s come on I know he’s made a point and it’s like thank you very much I’m out of here what have I told you about reading my notes Gary wait on wait on I’m just we we know we know G that that was not your note not because he did not start with marel faults there so we know they were not your notes what’s what’s for release Maran glone marel fults come on G we promised we promised fults talk so that’s the point where you started surely okay I was going to leave Cal to the end just to that’s fine so you you building the tension to you finishing on high absolutely absolutely Kel his friends Paul Kel to his friends yeah so Keon his friend um I can’t see us retaining him OB as Gary mentioned he he didn’t feature enough uh traveling Queen I can see us bringing him back on the two-way contract next season I thought he did okay in spur um one person we didn’t mention there was ma mclung um I do think Ma Poss would get the second two-way um and I’d like to see that because you know he’s an absolute bucket getter um scoffield I I know we love him on the part I think the fact that we can’t offer him a two-way unless it’s you know that last roster spot that we need to fill and we can’t get somebody and I don’t think that’s going to be the case then I think adm’s days possibly done um but you know you wish him well and hope he finds a role on Summer other team um go baz as Gary said I think there G be team sniffing around Goa Golden State being one of them I can see him taking an office somewhere else uh so that leads us on to you know having to sort the center spot out with obviously Mo Wendell and possibly ji playing spot minutes H chuma again as Gary mentioned I think he’s had his day um won’t be retained Les I like him I I definitely bring him back if we can get him at a discount not 11 million a season absolutely I think he got his paid day but listening to him on the pod squad he loves it here and they said to him you know if they you know what are you gonna do I’ll go and play for Oola so he wants to be here he’d hope they can restructure or however they do it um in order to give us the flexibility that we do need Mo Vagner absolute certain to be back um no issues there whatsoever so interestingly on that point Les and moaka we’ve got until the 29th of June to pick up their option uh so just a bit of info there um and then we’ve got Gary Harris so as as Gary mentioned you know it’s continuity and there’s a real togetherness about the team I think if we’re struggling to fill a roster out and he hasn’t got anything then there’s a chance of him coming back on a one your deal right at the not right at the death but you know after the sort of the cream of the crop have have gone y um but it wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Denver or another Contender uh and then we get to the king Marquel got to bring him back I see this every week what why is the Orlando Magic without Mark Al really so G I’m going to ask you yeah why much why why why and how much we’ve SE we’ve seen what he can do what he can do um I’m playing Devil advate with you yeah yeah yeah know it’s cool it’s cool um obviously the season before last this time last year he was the starting point guard for every single one of us every single one of us he’s had a bad year he had that knee injury he was beat up he’s obviously I think he’s possibly had you know some with his shoulder he’s obviously played through it he played well in the playoffs uh he’s absolutely capable we know that um and as a mentioned last couple of weeks you know worst case you play him off the bench in that role like a TJ McConnell you know maybe he’s not the starting point guard maybe we do need a a scorer on the floor who can shoot the ball spread the floor but having the versatility on the bench unit to slow things down to you know stop start dribble uh finish in the paint like what God I sound I sound like a TJ McConnell fan now um but he he he’s been really you are coming to my view on that guy you know I’ve always like I’ve always liked him I I hated him I know always liked him he’s been one players he was he was a you know he was a pest but he really came to his own in the playoffs In fairness and you know you wanted him to do well for the paces against the opposition that he had so why not um obviously the magic have shown trust in him he’s been paid uh whilst he’s been rehabbing so you’d hope that something was offered uh and all the players like him it’s that real camaraderie around the team and you’re not gonna like Gary said you’re not going to get rid of all of them either you you you simply can’t otherwise it’s just going to be a bit strange so um yeah watch this blow up in my face now I’ll sign sign with San Antonio you want to tell San Antonio that um tius Jones is available go over there GE I can’t believe you got there mate no all all I all I heard there was sign and Trad marel for TJ McConnell absolutely not no way Pedro what are you Paul um I agree with both of you on who comes back out of the lot and I think the the certainty is Mo and I also think that um Marquel is pretty much certainty I’d be shocked if we don’t bring him back I really would I really would um and I think if you can get a a if you can get Marquel as a backup point guard Off the Bench you can say seventh man it’s okay six man and a half okay if you can get somebody and and and I think his performance in the playoffs is what is going to get him back because he did he did do very well I think that there’s a lot of players feel a lot of loyalty to the team because of the opportunities that they’ve been given and the care that the teams show you only have to look at the the way Joe Engles has spoke about being in Orlando Marquel has been given the opportunity to rebuild a career look at um Jonathan Isaac as you said earlier Gary he’s been allowed to take the time to rehab for his own benef for for his benefit not his own benefit because it benefits the team as well but for his benefit he’s been allowed to rehab and build his strength in such a way that you hope you get greater consistency further down the line and I think that that sort of thing um and the the camaraderie that the team have does engender people to come back and who wouldn’t want to live there anyway yeah who wouldn’t want to live there so yeah I do I do entirely agree with you but I think I do I’m kind of a little bit more certain I I feel stronger that Marquel is back than perhaps others do I think I can see that coming I think the asteris for I’ve been all about the asteris tonight I think the asteris forest is Anthony black yeah oh right and and I think this is where we again we spoke I spoke earlier on about the potential of front loading contracts um Marquel could be another one of those where you look at um a cheaper contract overall but loaded to the front where he’s getting more at this at this earlier Point yeah I think I see him back but I think what his role on the team is might you might find that Anthony black gets more it’s next season then he’s had this yep I wouldn’t argue with that wouldn’t argue with that at all so bonus question very quickly who’s winning the finals I realize that we’ve not really got much of a dog in the fight but I think we all know who we are supporting who’s going to be the MVP look at that Woody’s in town boots Indiana Jes and the final part of this who could swing the title one way or the other so G come on we all know that we’re all supporting oh yeah come on if if Dallas don’t win this is going to be awful Isn’t it it’s going to be sickening for weeks and weeks and weeks having to listen to the Celtics fans um oh my head says one thing my heart says another um my head but who do you think wins genuinely uh I think Boston will do it I I genuinely think Boston have got too much for them they’re very good defensively um I’d like to be very very wrong and say you know donic is on another level but that you know that that trade for for Gafford and PJ Washington um I’d like to say that what would swing it for Dallas having those guys in there um but you know I’m not a big Kyrie man either but just to see him sticking on the Boston Celtics after all that all that’s happened between those two franchises would be absolutely sweet um but I I do think Boston are the better team um and it’s such a shame it’s such a shame so you going for Boston to win I’m going with Boston to win MVP of the finals oh gosh they’re talking about tatan being not top five in in the league and I agree with that I don’t think he’s top five but he’ll be the one that get them through um end of the day I believe um so not what I want to say but is what it is and your player who could swing it one way or the other so you know you don’t have to go for a star or you could go could be somebody to come off the bench it could be somebody who you think has got that chip that they want to stick it to a team um it be some no offense nobody like Samer will come on and just shoot like a million threes and you know just put them over uh but Dallas won the the two games in the regular season so there is hope um and we’re all very very hopeful but I do think Boston will win it okay Gary I swing backwards and forwards on this every day because I I don’t it’s not that clean cut for me um I think if I’m a if you wantan Dallas to win you’re worried about the idea of how many scoring options the Boston have got and what they can throw from the back court in terms of white um and holiday to try and slow down luga and Kyrie however the best player in the series is LCA donic he is the best player in the series You could argue on his night the second best players Kyrie You could argue that I don’t know if I agree with that but you could argue it I think you make an argument for that the interesting bit around it for me which I haven’t heard talked about is when you look at the two teams how Dallas could potentially control the glass plus luga can give you 10 rebounds a night but what Daniel Gafford can do what Lively can do on the glass is pretty big for them so kristof’s Pingus is huge but he’s not like a monster rebounder usually he’s g b Dwight Powell as well is on Dallas isn’t he and he can get his yep so in terms of the glass that’s where I think Dallas could win the series is on the rebound and um in terms of big players that aren’t being talked about I think PJ Washington if they want to win it’s going to have to be aage in 15 points a game on a good clip if you presume you’re going to get what you should get and need to get from Kyrie and luga um if I was looking at for Boston to have an unsung hero it’s going to have to be one of their back courau in holiday or white because one of them probably has to slow down Kyrie because if they take Kyrie out of it and slow them down and they’ve got the tools to do it in their back court Luca has got to win them the series so that’s that’s my take on it but I don’t think it’s Clin Co I think it’s going to be a really good finals actually yeah have you got anybody for an MVP if Dallas win it it’s luga yeah the the storyline is if Dallas Winn it it’s Kyrie that’s the story line but I think it’s probably luga I think of Boston win it it’s going to be one of the back court I think it’s going to be one of the defensive guys der white Derek white gun to your head Gary who wins Dallas good me yeah Dallas good I I do think Dallas I do think Dallas um I agree with Gary I think MVP is gonna is is Luca I think it’s going to be Luca and and I do think the player who could swing the title one way or another you’ve both mentioned him and that’s is Kyrie because there is that storyline of what happened in Boston with him I know I know that p played for Dallas so you’ve got the kind of reverse story line there as well um that’s not really getting picked up on an awful lot there is some motivation there for him to go out and produce because it didn’t happen for him in Dallas um but I do think it I do think that Kyrie is the one that can swing the series because if he doesn’t produce Dallas sunk um and if he does then quite frankly got to help Boston because the guy’s been on a tear and he has looked he has looked superb um I mean I know I wrote the before the the tip off at the start of the Season that for Dallas to do anything they had to find a way to get Luca and Kyrie to play together as they’ already gone all in they’d got nothing Financial wise that they could do they’ve had to find ways of putting people around those two at reasonable prices and find complimentary pieces they’ve done a brilliant job they’ve done a brilliant job so I I want them to win and I think that they will so yeah that’s mine that’s my two penis on that okay that’s going to do it for this week then guys um thank you every one who’s listening thank you to everyone who’s watched before we go as always we have to say a huge thank you to our patrons um for the support that they show to us it’s incredible support from Barry KH Paulo and Fran warmth oi law Gary Clark Angus Craig Dylan Holden Alan Kane Tom sonone Mark Joss Shawn Moore Liam radborne Andy Linley Stuart Benes drum drum drummy drum drum and podfather Phil loves hazy Northwestern huge thank you to you all I’m sorry that I I missed the last Patron call which I understand was an absolute blast um for you all so if you are interested in joining our Patron three tiers as always bearing benefits visit our website or patreon.com let’s talk magic uh to find out all about it come and join in the form we do have a bit of a bit of a laugh I won’t be here for the next episode when we record um I’m going to be at the down low Festival hopefully not too worse for wear for drink uh hope don’t believe you hopefully not drowned uh it’s not a drown load uh Festival this year we we’ve had two very good years weatherwise so fingers crossed for three years running um but Gary you’re hosting next week and you’ve got a very a great replacement lined up for me um going to be some I’m looking forward to having listened to what you’ve got planned it’ll be good be good so if you enjoy if you enjoyed today’s episode please give it a thumbs up leave us your thoughts questions comments don’t forget to subscribe please subscribe to our YouTube channel it would help us so much we are very close to getting towards that thousand number which is the magic number we would really really really appreciate you clicking on the Subscribe button you can like us on Facebook follow us on Instagram Tik Tok and X all _ let talk magic so until next time from Grant from Gary and absent Mikey and myself let’s go magic and let’s go Dallas

In this episode of Let’s Talk Magic, the hosts discuss the future of Jonathan Isaac, one of the key decisions the Orlando Magic have to make this off-season. They debate whether the team should keep Isaac or use him as a trade asset. They also discuss Isaac’s role within the team, his defensive prowess, and his offensive improvement. The hosts speculate on the type of contract Isaac could receive, considering his injury history and the team’s financial situation. In the second part of the conversation, the hosts discuss the free agents on the Orlando Magic roster and who they would bring back. They mention players like Mo Wagner, Admiral Schofield, and Joe Ingles as potential returnees. They also speculate on the future of Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris. The hosts then make predictions for the NBA Finals, with one favoring the Boston Celtics and the other favoring the Dallas Mavericks. They discuss the potential MVPs and players who could swing the series.

00:00 Introduction and Greetings
03:09 Remembering Deb and Introduction to the Topic
03:51 The Importance of Keeping Jonathan Isaac
07:04 Jonathan Isaac’s Health and Playing Time
10:01 Jonathan Isaac’s Role within the Team
16:13 Contract Considerations for Jonathan Isaac
44:18 Predictions for the NBA Finals
50:24 Potential MVPs and Game-Changing Players

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