The Orlando Magic will head deeper into the offseason without the luxury of being able to make an abundance of moves, given their position that exceeds the first apron threshold.

The Magic are roughly $9.3 million over that threshold, and most of their money is tied up in their four best players: Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs. The decision by the front office to trade for Bane in June 2025 also used up Orlando’s draft capital as well.

After a season in which they finished 45-37 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, the Magic came alive in the first round of the playoffs by taking a commanding 3-1 lead against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. However, that lead was squandered, and while an argument can be made that Wagner’s calf strain hurt Orlando beyond repair, other roster deficiencies contributed to its downfall, also.

Realistically, the Magic’s bench was not good enough when it mattered most to support the loss of Wagner. Therefore, the team would benefit by upgrading its reserves, but how can it be done meaningfully without getting below the first apron. Well, there may be a solution.

Recently, Spotrac's Keith Smith joined The Sixth Man Show to talk about the Magic’s options for getting under the threshold, and it involves parting ways with a longtime face.

"Yeah, your first path, I think, is waving Jonathan Isaac," Smith said. "With Jonathan Isaac, what would happen is, I think they'll do what they can to try to trade him first, because that removes all financial obligation. By trading him, I mean full-on salary dump him to another team.

Because he's on this funky contract that, even for another team, they could get out of it for only $8 million, that's probably a couple of second-round picks to get off of. 

"It shouldn't cost them a first-rounder," Smith added. "Unless the team is like, 'Boy, they're really desperate, and we're going to hold their feet to the fire here and make them pay.’ I think they're okay with that. What we would have, though, let's say they can't come up with a trade that gets Jonathan Isaac off the books. What the Magic can do, and I'm going to do a little bit of math here on the fly,  They could wave Jonathan Isaac, take that $8 million that he is set to make, and then what they can do is wave and stretch that, actually, over seven years. Because he has three years left on his contract. 

Isaac was selected by the Magic with the sixth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and while he has looked at times to be a strong 3-and-D threat, injuries and inconsistent play have led to his contract to become unfavorable. Therefore, it may be time for Orlando to move on for the betterment of the books.

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