Magic's Jonathan Isaac Not Ruling out Return from Knee Injury in NBA Restart

Jonathan Isaac's season was deemed over in January after he suffered a posterolateral corner injury and a medial bone contusion. But with the season halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic and potentially restarting at the end of July, Isaac could play for the Orlando Magic as they fight for a playoff berth. 

"As of right now, I'm going to the bubble," he told Justin Warmoth of The Weekly on ClickOrlando.com. "Will I be able to play? I can't put my finger on it now. I'm going to continue to work every single day like I'm going for it, so hopefully, that crosses paths the right way and is able to happen."

It's probably still a long shot that Isaac will play, however. Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel reported on June 8 that Isaac "most likely will not be healthy enough to return."

And president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said the team was waiting to see how Isaac and injured forward Al-Farouq Aminu were coming along in their respective recoveries before making any decisions about their return:

"Not a whole lot of news there. As always, we're going to wait and see how they respond to rehab. They're both working very hard.

"There's a difference of being healthy and then being safely healthy. It will have been a long, long time since those guys played and you know organizationally that we're never going to put our guys in a position where they're exposed to any sort of risk of injury. So that being said, we'll just continue to see how they progress."

Josh Robbins of The Athletic reported on June 9 that "Isaac's rehabilitation continues to go well, sources said," though he added that he was skeptical the young forward would play again this season. 

Isaac, 22, was in the midst of an excellent third season, averaging career highs in points (12.0), rebounds (6.9), blocks (2.4) and steals (1.4). His defensive impact is palpable, though his perimeter shooting (33.0 percent from three) remains a work in progress. 

He would help the Magic if he plays. But given the long layoff, it wouldn't be surprising if the Magic played it safe and kept him sidelined.