NBA Trade Rumors: Struggling difference-makers who may need a fresh start to get their career back on track.
Three weeks through the 2023-24 NBA season, most teams around the league have played at least 10 games. By no means is 10 games an official barometer on teams but it’s the point where we can begin to draw some fair conclusions. Early-season trends are either breaking or being hammered home and there are certainly players who have begun to snap out of cold starts or begun to fall off a hot streak.
Taking a look at the landscape around the league, it’s easy to see that there are a few difference-makers who might be at the moment where they’d be better served with a fresh start and on a new team. Let’s explore nine of them that might need a change.
9 difference-makers that might be ready for a fresh start
Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic
After losing two seasons of his career due to injury, Jonathan Isaac has struggled to get back to the player he was during the 2019-20 season in which he averaged 12 points and seven rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field. While some of that could be blamed on rust post-injury, it’s not like the Orlando Magic have done him many favors either.
It’s downright impossible to find a rhythm when you’re only averaging 13 minutes per game. It’s no surprise Isaac is on pace to finish the year with career-low numbers. However, at just 26 years old, it would be foolish to completely count him out. Unfortunately, it appears that if Isaac is going to bounce back at this point in his career, it’s probably going to have to come with a fresh start, likely not on the Magic.