With both Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz coming off major knee surgeries for the Orlando Magic, their timelines for a return to the floor remain a bit foggy.
Per The Athletic, the Magic, along with Isaac and Fultz, remained pretty quiet about a specific timeline.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, coach Jamahl Mosley, forward Jonathan Isaac and guard Markelle Fultz treaded carefully when asked to disclose when Isaac and Fultz will play again following reconstructive knee surgeries.
But although Isaac and Fultz have not suffered setbacks in their rehab regimens, they will not be ready to play when the Magic open their regular season on October 20 in San Antonio, The Athletic has learned from league sources.
It should come as no surprise that the Magic are staying cautious about getting two of their main pieces back on the court.
The Magic are exercising significant caution, taking both players’ prior injury histories into account as the team plots what’s best for Isaac and Fultz in the long term.
The role for Fultz with the Magic once he returns will be interesting considering all the other lead-guard options Orlando has.
They used the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft on Jalen Suggs out of Gonzaga. He will be added to a group that already has Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton. There are tons of young options for the Magic to work with and Fultz is one of them, once he returns.
Orlando using a slow approach with Isaac and Fultz is the way to go given the situation they are in with a rebuild in full effect.