[high floorParticipant]

Orlando went with Jonathan Isaac at #6, which was probably the best pick for the Magic in that draft slot. I also liked Dennis Smith Jr for them… but I can understand why the new front office leadership would want to give Elfrid Payton a chance to show what he can do without looking over his shoulder. Plus Payton’s in a contract year… so maybe ownership feels he will prove his worth & iron out the deficiencies in his game with UFA approaching him next year.

Back to Isaac. He definitely fits the mold of a newly appointed John Hammond pick. Hammond, former General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks the past 5+ years, likes tall / lengthy / rangy players who can handle the ball & are willing defenders that can switch on D easily (Giannis & Thon Maker). I don’t think Isaac will get many minutes out of the gate, as his body is super frail and he won’t be able to handle steady contact without suffering injury. But he’ll do pretty well with the minutes he’s given due to his size and skill-set going against 2nd unit competition.

My best guess is that Isaac will play between 13-20 minutes per game the first half of the season, then increase to 23-25 minutes per game around the All Star Break, and then 26-30 minutes the final month of the season for added experience & to get the fan-base excited about him when Orlando inevitably falls out of the playoff race. My prediction for his overall season statistics are as follows:

22mpg, 8.5pts, 4.4rebs, 1.0assist, 0.5threes, 0.5stls, 1.0blk, 44%fg, 34% 3pt, 75%ft

*All-Rookie 2nd Team selection 

[high floorParticipant]

Just noticed I wrote unrestricted free agent (UFA). Apologies

[Robb_CParticipant]

 Pretty good Projections!! I dont see him averaging a blk a game in 22 mins though.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Isn’t that similar to what Robert Horry averaged as a rookie?

I think that Isaac can go for 13, 6, 2, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals a game with a decent amount of 3’s.  

 

 

 

[high floorParticipant]

Horry was a 4 year college player though and got 30 minutes of run per game with the Rockets his rookie season. Isaac’s age & physical profile won’t allow him to play big minutes his rookie season, thus limiting the beef on his counting stats. Personally i’m looking more to his efficiency & defense as indicators for his future success.

Remember Giannis averaged 7pts, 4.4rebs, 1.9assists in 24 minutes per game his rookie season. I think that parallel’s Isaac more than other players, like Robert Horry, who were drafted with a more NBA ready body

   

[GronounoursParticipant]

 I think he could average:

17mpg, 7,6pts, 4.4rebs, 1.2assist, 0.8threes, 0.4stls, 0.8blk, 43%fg, 35% 3pt, 78%ft

But maybe:

23mpg, 10.2pts, 5.1rebs, 1.6assist, 1.0threes, 0.3stls, 0.7blk, 46%fg, 38% 3pt, 76%ft

Although I wouldn’t rule out:

20mpg, 6.8pts, 3.2rebs, 2.1assist, 0.8threes, 1.2stls, 0.4blk, 49%fg, 33% 3pt, 82%ft

Any other stat line would be quite surprising.

 

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

 He reminds me of Anthony Randolph

[nath09Participant]

Hopefully for the Magic he doesn’t take long to shake that. 

[nill650Participant]

 he might get 30 minutes a game in the dleague…

 Orlando also might throw him in the fire…who knows.

[MopgrassParticipant]

 Not too lofty of a prediction. I predict he’ll be a rag doll year 1. 

[BallerScriptParticipant]

 I think his rookie season could be somewhere in between Otto Porter Jr’s and Andrei Kirilenko’s.

17-23ish minutes | 6.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.9 bpg | 40.7 fg%, 25.8 3pt%, 71.8 ft%

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 I pretty much agree with that projection. 24-mpg 9-ppg 5-rpg 1.5-apg 0.3-spg 1.0-bpg. Too say the least he should be very productive straight out of the gates. 

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