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The Isaac/DSJ debate has been a major one on this board since draft night in 2017. I've seen it brought up here many times early on this year as well by certain posters that post his stats saying that we could have taken him over Isaac. I'm interested to see the overall consensus so far on this debate though.

Isaac stats so far in 23 mpg:


DSJ's stats so far in 28 mpg:

Isaac is an impact defender... our best defender since Dwight. Just watching him on defense you can see he stands out from the rest of the team with his foot/hand speed, ability to recover, knowing how to use his length, and instincts. It is rare for young players to play defense like that out of the gates. That alone makes me prefer him. DSJ is alright, but he's going to have to up his scoring by a lot for me to feel regret anytime soon.

Isaac can get a little wild on offense, but he looks very fluid/smooth to me with the ball on drives from start to finish for such a long player (not robotic like AG) plus he has the length and hustle to do offball and garbage man stuff which is always a welcome, so I'd like to see what he looks like after a couple more years of development. He's got a chance to be a special two way player.

Smith would still make more sense due Gordon/Isaac overlapping problems and struggles when they share floor and Vučević isn't around to keep thing smooth.

But , just like whole "should we tank" thing at some point it's just pointless to debate about things that won't and can't change.
Both players look better this than they did last year.

Isaac all day. But I don't f**k up the following year, by not trading up for Doncic.

this should not be close said it before draft nothing changed isaac

pepe1991 wrote:Smith would still make more sense due Gordon/Isaac overlapping problems and struggles when they share floor and Vučević isn't around to keep thing smooth.

But , just like whole "should we tank" thing at some point it's just pointless to debate about things that won't and can't change.
Both players look better this than they did last year.

I don't see it as pointless. 2017 was WeHams first draft and that was a huge pick for us. I think going back and debating whether we made the right choice or not especially when the board was so divided on us not picking DSJ is a good thing to track over the years.

It was a coin flip decision for me on draft night and it remains one today.

Both have impressed me and both have had their struggles.

I’m happy with our choice and as a Dallas resident I can assure they are happy with their choice as well.

Preferred Isaac on draft night, still prefer him now

Nearly nobody is going to say DSJr when answering this question because Isaac is part of the Magic.

If this question was in relation to building a better roster? DSJ would be starting over DJ and AG would be without question starting PF. Isaac comes off the bench for Simmons and Iwundu, so it’s safe to say Clifford doesn’t view the AG/Isaac switchability everyone was vying for and fawning over.

So the question becomes would you rather have a mildly inconsistent starting point guard or a defensive wing that is coming off the bench? I would probably still choose DSJr because I don’t think depth is something Orlando should be worried about if they lack a starting point guard and swingman. That isn’t to say I don’t view Isaac as special, but as long as AG is starting and Clifford is the coach it’s a choice that makes sense to me.

In a vacuum I still take Isaac if I’m not taking into account the current roster situation at all.

Isaac seems to be the bigger impact player. Unless DSJ becomes a big time scorer I don't see that changing.

The real question is Issac over Markkanen... that's going to be one of the worst draft mistakes of the decade.

Anybody who'd take Isaac over Markkanen is kidding themselves. People always talk about Isaac's defense, but markkanen is already a good defender too and can be a great defender himself so Isaacs defense really doesn't mean much when he cant shoot and the other guy is literally just like KP on offense, and maybe even better because hes more mobile and can do things even KP/any other 7 footers can do... like drive and kick, etc.

We **** this one up. Gonna be painful having to decide how much to pay isaac in a couple years if he doesnt develop a consistent jumper and this kid is in the all star game for the Bulls. Smh.

I was all for DSJ, but Issac is and was clearly the right pick.

We have big defensive Problems without JI. It makes a difference when he plays or doesn’t play. Add to that he looks competent on offense so far, and I think he still has a ton of room to become an amazing choice for us.

The biggest thing is that we find ourselves in desperate need of a solid starting PG right now, so DSJ seems like he’d have been the savior. The problem with that thought is that you have to consider context in all of these situations. We don’t know what was or wasn’t in the table in any trade situation and we don’t know what happens to the construction of our team going a different path.

So far, WeHam has done well for us. I will admit being wrong on them a lot so far. They have given us a watchable team and we are improving all the time under their direction. I’m happy with JI. He doesn’t do the glamorous stuff, but I assure you, you’ve forgotten how awful perimeter D killed us for years. I would argue that this was a big reason for Vuc looking so awful at the rim. He was always in a position that he had to switch and it allowed for easy dump offs at the rim which killed his stats and our win/loss results. Having a defender like JI that can also put it in the basket at a competent level is what we needed.

I wonder how Dallas fans would answer this poll. I'm really encouraged by Isaac's occasional assertiveness on offense, but the team desperately needs a point guard, scorer, and playmaker. I'd still go with Dennis Smith's potential, but I do really like Isaac's game. I've come around on him. Plays like the one OrlandO showed above give me some hope that he might be able to be more than what he's showed,

Isaac over DSJr yes. Bamba and 19 pick over Luka? NO!

King- wrote:The real question is Issac over Markkanen... that's going to be one of the worst draft mistakes of the decade.

Anybody who'd take Isaac over Markkanen is kidding themselves. People always talk about Isaac's defense, but markkanen is already a good defender too and can be a great defender himself so Isaacs defense really doesn't mean much when he cant shoot and the other guy is literally just like KP on offense, and maybe even better because hes more mobile and can do things even KP/any other 7 footers can do... like drive and kick, etc.

We **** this one up. Gonna be painful having to decide how much to pay isaac in a couple years if he doesnt develop a consistent jumper and this kid is in the all star game for the Bulls. Smh.

This. Lauri has been beasting.

fendilim wrote:

King- wrote:The real question is Issac over Markkanen... that's going to be one of the worst draft mistakes of the decade.

Anybody who'd take Isaac over Markkanen is kidding themselves. People always talk about Isaac's defense, but markkanen is already a good defender too and can be a great defender himself so Isaacs defense really doesn't mean much when he cant shoot and the other guy is literally just like KP on offense, and maybe even better because hes more mobile and can do things even KP/any other 7 footers can do... like drive and kick, etc.

We **** this one up. Gonna be painful having to decide how much to pay isaac in a couple years if he doesnt develop a consistent jumper and this kid is in the all star game for the Bulls. Smh.

This. Lauri has been beasting.

Has he though?

Lauri is really talented and his shooting is legit but Bulls team is not built to help him

So many trash guards who can't or won't defend.
He just returned from injury and he had strong rookie year.
I can see him being 18-22 ppg / 9-10 rpg player in soon future

MagicFan101 wrote:It was a coin flip decision for me on draft night and it remains one today.

Both have impressed me and both have had their struggles.

I still think Isaac will emerge as a 6th-level quality out of the draft. Yes the Magic need a guard. But if the team had drafted Smith, Orlando would need a forward and we would all be inverting this conversation about whether management should have drafted Isaac over Smith.

..

A non-defensive PF instead of an elite, 2-way SF/PF with Isaac (in the soon future)?.. The riot I would have after all of the Vooch hate.. .. Maybe if Markkanen reaches Dirk-level offense? Not really possible though. Dirk is HOF, with a ring, for a reason.