JF5 wrote:Magic_Kingdom wrote:Was Isaac "in the running" for DPOY? What, did he finish second or third? Did he get a lot of votes? Was he "in the running" for 1st-team All-Defensive? So did he make the 2nd team? Because I don't remember any of that.
Before he went down with Injury in the 2019-2020 season
This write up was in Mid December of 2019Phil Watson of Fansided wrote:Still slight of build at 6-foot-11 and just 210 pounds, Isaac is currently leading the NBA in blocked shots, swatting 2.7 per game.
Isaac is improving as a rebounding presence for the Orlando Magic at the defensive end, now getting 5.4 defensive boards per game — an increase of more than one per 36 minutes over last season — while also averaging 1.2 steals and committing only 2.4 fouls in 30.9 minutes per game.
It’s at the rim where Isaac’s 7-foot-1 wing span becomes a problem for opposing shooters. He’s allowing 63.7 percent shooting on 16.3 shots per game in the restricted area, but that is a number that should come down as Isaac adds some bulk to his frame.
Among bigs, Isaac is in the 98th percentile with a block rate of 4.6 percent and in the 92nd percentile at a 1.8 percent steal rate. The defensive glass is an issue — again because of his lack of strength and bulk — where his 15.8 percent rebounding rate on the defensive end is only in the 43rd percentile.
https://hoopshabit.com/2019/12/14/kawhi-leonard-jonathan-isaac-top-nba-defensive-player-ladder/5/
also from FansidedNick Swanson of Fansided wrote:Before injuries derailed his 2019 season, Isaac was off to a promising start. In the 34 games he played, he was averaging 5.1 defensive rebounds per game, 1.6 steals per game and 2.3 blocks per game. Those are All-Defense numbers and borderline DPOY numbers. Unfortunately, that season was cut significantly short.
https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/04/orlando-magic-3-goals-jonathan-isaac/4/
From YahooKurt Helin from Yahoo wrote:Jonathan Isaac was having a breakout season for Orlando. He had become a go-to defensive stopper for the Magic, a long, athletic, switchable defender averaging 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals a game. He was going to get All-Defensive team votes this season and looked like a future Defensive Player of the Year candidate. (On offense he’s averaged 12 points and 6.9 rebounds a game, both career bests, but he is still a project.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/jonathan-isaac-al-farouq-aminu-230000434.htmlMagic_Kingdom wrote:I will give you that Isaac helped the 2018-19 team make the playoffs, although he only averaged 9.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1.3 bpg that season. But he did not help the 2019-20 team make the playoffs when he only played in 34 games that year. He played less than half the season.
With JI's impact defensively and a stretch of games where they didn't have the defensive advantage and they were losing. If he doesn't play those 34 games I really believe this team doesn't make the playoffs. But that's just another conversation.Magic_Kingdom wrote:I agree that Clifford deserves his share of credit for the two playoff appearances, and it's true that Weltman hired Cliff. But Weltman blew up the roster the very next year after they made two consecutive playoffs, which ran Cliff out of town. So does Weltman get credit for hiring Clifford but no blame for blowing up what Cliff was building, thereby letting a good coach go? That is the circular nature of your argument. If Weltman came in here with any kind of vision then he would have done one of two things: 1) Hired a good coach and started building a team around what was already here; or, 2) Gutted the roster and tanked. Instead he waffled and did both and now here we are *5 years* after he was hired with the worst team in the league.
The team was broken up because their original core in Vucevic/Fournier/Gordon all demanded to be traded. Gordon alluded to this when he publically made remarks after a game right before the deadline that he and others (Fournier, Vucevic, and probably Ross) felt the same way about wanting to go different ways.
Fournier indicated he wanted to moved during that off-season prior, and it recently came out when he was here when Chicago was playing in Orlando when Vucevic himself wanted to be moved privately and he was working with WeHam to get it done.
TBH I believe WeHam wanted to rebuild immediately, but like someone here said the Organization was wanting to make the Playoffs desperately. So the only way they could do it was by keeping the Vets and implementing a few pieces and a Vet Coach with recent success that would get them in (which happened in back-to-back seasons with those playoff appearances). They achieved that objective and were extended now they can a fresh start that they probably initially wanted like the Fans here did.Magic_Kingdom wrote:Anyone who wants to credit Weltman for little things he has done here and there should consider, five years into his tenure, how far away we are from being relevant. And if you like the direction of the rebuild, consider what he's rebuilding -- his own mess. It's like crediting a pilot who crashed a plane for successfully opening the emergency hatches.
I''m a person who sees it in multiple ways. But the fact of the matter is they answer to Alex Martins/Devos/Top Team Executives (guys who don't know crap about basketball). If those guys wanted playoff appearances within a certain amount of time, then WeHam has to go into a direction where has to rely on Veteran Players and Coaches to get them there and keep the suits happy. Its Political Game on top of having the medium of trying to build something of substance that can last going into the future.
Again, when the original Core of Fournier/Gordon/Vucevic all wanted to the leave the team at once, WeHam probably said to the Suits they could turn this around within 2 Seasons after moving on from those guys. Since they were able to follow through with the playoff appearances which was probably the main objective, now they can rebuild the team into what they and what the fans want.
This expands as to what I'm talking about
I agree with pretty much everything you have said in this post. I don't know what sort of conversations took place. I don't know what mandates Weltman had when he took the job. I do recall that Vogel was to be given a chance by the new regime, which tells me that the goal out of the gates was to get a lot better in a hurry.
My concern is that this front office had done next to nothing until their feet were held to the fire. When the core asked out, they took action. Something good happened. If their feet aren't held to the fire, will they do anything? Repeatedly drafting in slot and punting on 2nd-round picks is an indictment. Inactivity, in general, is a bad thing. Trading is an inherently good thing. I feel as though we have finally taken a step in the right direction, but I'm not all that confident that that single step is indicative of more to come.
I'm not out on this front office. I actually like Weltman. I'm just not very confident in their abilities at this point in time.