ORLANDO, FLA. — The Orlando Magic waived forward Jonathan Isaac on June 27, 2026, making him an unrestricted free agent and saving the team $6.5 million in salary for the 2026-27 season.

Isaac was guaranteed $8 million of his $14.5 million salary for the 2026-27 season. The two seasons following the 2026-27 season on his contract were non-guaranteed. The waiver decreases the Magic's projected luxury tax payment for the upcoming season from approximately $16.5 million to around $10 million.

The Magic are expected to pay luxury tax for the first time in over a decade. Isaac can begin negotiating with other clubs as a free agent starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Teams may sign free agents to contracts beginning at 12:01 p.m. on July 6.

Isaac is 28 years old and stands 6 feet 10 inches tall. He played seven seasons with the Orlando Magic after being selected sixth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. During his career with the Magic, Isaac averaged 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, accumulating 2,231 points in 328 games played, starting 109 of them. His career high for points in a season was 720 in the 2018-2019 season.

In the past season, Isaac appeared in 52 games for the Magic but missed the playoffs due to a left knee injury. He suffered a left knee sprain in mid-March, which caused him to miss the final 17 contests and the entire postseason. Over his tenure, Isaac missed two and a half years due to various knee injuries, including a torn left ACL.

Isaac agreed to a five-year, $84 million contract renegotiation and extension with the Orlando Magic in the offseason following the 2023-24 season. Ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, he added weight in an attempt to play a more traditional center role. His three-point percentage dropped to 25.8 percent in the 2024-25 season, compared to 37.5 percent in the season prior. In the past season, he shot 18.4 percent from three-point range.

The Magic had the option to waive-and-stretch Isaac's contract, which would have paid him approximately $1.1 million per year over seven seasons. This option would have provided the Magic with approximately $13.4 million in immediate savings for the upcoming season. However, stretching his contract would have prevented the team from bringing him back for the remainder of the stretched time span. After waiving Isaac, the Orlando Magic now have four standard-contract roster spots available.