Markelle Fultz Fits Philadelphia 76ers

Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers number one overall draft pick Ben Simmons (R) is greeted by center Joel Embiid (L) during a press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers number one overall draft pick Ben Simmons (R) is greeted by center Joel Embiid (L) during a press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Jan 20, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) and center Joel Embiid (21) celebrate after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 93-92. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) and center Joel Embiid (21) celebrate after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 93-92. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Roster Research

We had recently examined the current Philadelphia 76ers roster, looking for clues as to how good this team is right now.  Pulling from that original article, the team roster appeared rather well rounded.  Of course, the team loses players with expiring contracts. That pulls both Sergio Rodriguez and Tiago Splitter from the roster.

Secondly, the team has some shallowness at the front court currently.   With the current set of knowns, that depth chart looks like this:

2017-2018 DEPTH CHART

CENTER                                                POWER FORWARD                    SMALL FORWARD
Joel Embiid                                           Dario Saric                                    Robert Covington
Jahlil Okafor                                         Shawn Long                                 (Unknown)
Richaun Holmes                                 (Unknown)                                   Justin Anderson*

Shooting Guard                                 Point Guard
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot            Ben Simmons
Nik Stauskas                                       T.J.McConnell
Gerald Henderson                             Jerryd Bayless

Now let’s factor in a Markelle Fultz trade into the depth chart.

2017-2018 DEPTH CHART

CENTER                                                POWER FORWARD                    SMALL FORWARD
Joel Embiid                                           Dario Saric                                   Robert Covington
Jahlil Okafor                                         Shawn Long                                Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Richaun Holmes                                 (Unknown)                                    Justin Anderson*

Shooting Guard                                 Point Guard
Markelle Fultz                                    Ben Simmons
Nik Stauskas                                       T.J.McConnell
Gerald Henderson                             Jerryd Bayless

Suddenly, that roster appears very solid indeed. And if the Ben Simmons to point guard is not 100 percent effective, the team simply moves Simmons to small forward, Fultz to point guard and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to shooting guard. So the position NBA force becomes even more positionless