Heading into this coming season, the Orlando Magic are hopeful that they can make the playoffs, as they have added some key pieces to bolster their lineup. One player they brought in to their fold is rookie Jonathan Isaac, who they see as a cornerstone of their team in the future.

Head coach Frank Vogel thinks very highly of him, especially in how he plays defense. He recently gave him a lot of credit for it, via Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, even calling that aspect of his game as “NBA ready.” However, he also understands that Isaac still needs to learn a lot of things, particularly the tricks veterans know.

“For me, anything he does on the offensive end is gravy, and he’s got a good feel [there] on the offensive end,” Vogel said. “But he is NBA-ready to come in and impact our team on the defensive end right now, and he’s showing it every time we see him out there [with] his length at the rim [and] his ability to guard on the perimeter. It’s beyond his years.

“He’s still got to learn the tricks of some of the vets in this league and all that stuff. He’s still going to be picked on by the officials. We’re going to see all that, as we should with any rookie. But I’m very impressed, as anybody that’s watching [can see], with what he can do on the defensive end. He’s going to give us a big lift there.”

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The 20-year-old was selected with the sixth overall pick of last June’s draft. He is fresh coming off his solid stint at Florida State, where he was named to the ACC All-Freshman team. Now with the Magic, their fans are hoping that he can complement the games of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Elfrid Payton and form a solid nucleus for the years to come.

Outside of his defense, Isaac’s versatility will also come in handy for Vogel and his staff, as he can play both forward positions. That said, Gordon could be back to his natural power forward spot and have a very tall lineup, which could cause a lot of problems for their opponents. However, with his coach already giving him a lot of praise for his defense, it is very interesting to see if he can live up to expectations and make an immediate impact for the Magic this year.