Markelle Fultz has had a rough time in Philadelphia. ESPN writer Jackie MacMullan wrote that on her wish list was a new home for Fultz. He was drafted no. 1 overall over Lonzo Ball and Jayson Tatum. Both went on to have relatively productive rookie seasons. Fultz was a ghost.
The media stalked him at practices. Rumors flared up about disputes with coaches and the front office By the time he came back, at only 20, he found that the team who had traded two first round picks to make sure they drafted him had moved on. There were three ball dominant players in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and the newly acquired Jimmy Butler. A pass-first point guard wouldn’t fit in. Fultz still tried. He only averaged 8.2 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds.
Fultz hasn’t been issue free this season even after working with trainer Drew Hanlen all summer. His supposed reworked shot ended with him double clutching free throws. Even when the game was stopped, Fultz would look like he was having an out of body experience.
Then, his thoracic outlet syndrome, a mysterious condition with no known cause and no known cure and an odd similarity to a case of the yips, was finally diagnosed. This came on the heels of a ten doctor, four city adventure to find a diagnosis. Some reporters would question it, even going so far to call it bullshit outright.
Now Fultz is looking to return to the 76ers. Even though the team suffered an overtime Christmas day loss to the Boston Celtics, this is a win. Despite Fultz not fitting into the team he’s still a worthy trade piece. His agent, Raymond Brothers, told ESPN that he’s looking to return this season but that he must be “100% and healthy when he does come back.” Philadelphia could easily flip him for much-needed depth and shooting and aim for a deep title run. Or he could fit into the Sixers current set up. Either way, it’s tough for Philly to lose this. Though the same thing was said about drafting Fultz in the first place.
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