Adam Silver, ownership led Philadelphia 76ers into Markelle Fultz fiasco

Despite knowledge of Markelle Fultz’s shoulder problem, the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him anyway as a result of the NBA’s intrusion and weak ownership.

For the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2017, drafting Markelle Fultz was the easy choice. He put up great numbers at Washington, could score from all three levels, and resembled exactly what the Sixers’ offense missed at the time. But the team ignored his shoulder problem before the draft, which shows both the NBA and the franchise’s owners led the team to draft Fultz, which was the easy but wrong choice.

The Boston Celtics knew about Markelle Fultz’s injury before the draft, according to The Athletic.

If the Celtics noticed Fultz’s shoulder issue and found it serious enough to not draft him, why didn’t the Sixers? Well, there are two reasons behind that: Adam Silver intervening with the Process, and disinterested owners.

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Sam Hinkie had it together. It’s safe to assume he knew what he was doing when he selected three centers in three consecutive drafts from 2013 to 2015. He likely had a plan to move at least one of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor before their values tanked, and he would certainly have a similar plan for Fultz. But Adam Silver and Jerry and Bryan Colangelo ruined all of that.

Silver came in and forced the Sixers to hire Jerry Colangelo as an “advisor” to Hinkie, but he quickly ended up seizing control of the team and leaving while handing complete control of the front office to his son.

Not only did his son nearly ruin the team’s morale by disclosing classified information to his Twitter-happy wife, but he also waited to trade Noel and Okafor until their values were almost nothing. Colangelo let Okafor overstay his welcome in the City of Brotherly Love so long that he was subjected to a long streak of “Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision” lines in box scores by the end of his tenure as a 76er.

So, why can Bryan Colangelo receive blame for the Fultz issue? Well, he probably did not even care about the team in the first place since his dad handed him the job without so much as an interview, and since the fans hated him upon him assuming the role of general manager after he and his dad forced Hinkie out, he decided to draft Fultz during the first draft in which he had total control in order to pacify the fans’ concerns about perimeter shooting.

Obviously, Colangelo and the medical staff (as per usual) failed the franchise and the city during Fultz’s pre-draft workout when they passed off his shoulder problem as something not important. And on top of that, they gave Jayson Tatum and a good 2019 first-round pick to the Celtics while getting essentially nothing in return based on how the trade looks now. The blame from that terrible mistake should go to the trainers and Colangelo, but the owners should receive blame for letting the whole Colangelo situation happen in the first place.

On Dec. 7, 2015, Adam Silver forced the Sixers to hire father Colangelo to serve as an advisor to Hinkie, who was supposed to remain as general manager. By April, Hinkie was gone and baby Colangelo was in charge, and the team’s weak, disinterested owners let that happen and deserve blame for it.

If franchise owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer resisted Silver’s calls for Colangelo and let Hinkie steer the ship, the team would not have drafted Fultz because Hinkie is an intelligent general manager who cared more about the well-being of the team than anything else. He certainly would have faced criticism for not drafting Fultz, but most fans would now say they would rather have been saved from the Markelle-related stress and have a serviceable role player instead of him.

Hinkie had a plan, and if he stayed in power long enough to see it reach its full potential, the Philadelphia 76ers would be even better than they are now. Instead, Colangelo moved the 2014 sixth-overall pick to Dallas for Justin Anderson and a fake first-round pick, and the 2015 third-overall pick to Brooklyn for a then-29-year-old Trevor Booker. He also let the same thing happen to Fultz, and now first-time GM Elton Brand has to find a trade partner for the almost untradeable guard.

The owners knowingly created a toxic environment within the front office when they brought Philadelphia’s least favorite father and son in to redirect and expedite the Process. It was horrendous leadership on Josh Harris and David Blitzer’s part since the entire league knew Hinkie became a lame duck once the Colangelos came in.

The Sixers’ owners gave power to Bryan Colangelo, and he had limited knowledge of the Sixers’ personnel, Markelle Fultz, and the Process. Had Adam Silver not stepped in, Hinkie would still serve as the Sixers’ GM, and one can be certain that if Danny Ainge noticed Fultz’s shoulder injury before the draft, Hinkie would have noticed it, too.

To this day, Bryan Colangelo’s missteps regarding Fultz still show. Had the Sixers drafted, say, Tatum or Donovan Mitchell instead of the ex-Washington guard, they would not have had to trade Robert Covington and Dario Saric for Jimmy Butler since they would have drafted the three-level scorer they lacked for years.

Fultz was supposed to be that guy for Philly, but that ship sailed in his pre-draft workout with the Celtics. Unfortunately, the Sixers’ front office failed to notice it before it grew too late. So instead of having a starting five of a healthy Fultz or Tatum or Mitchell with Ben Simmons, Covington, Saric, and Joel Embiid, the Sixers now have to give a five-year max deal to a 29-year-old Jimmy Butler this summer.

If Jerry Colangelo and the Philadelphia 76ers’ owners had done their due diligence on Fultz and traded players like Fultz before their value dropped drastically, the team would have an even brighter future than they do now.

Instead of having one of the most complete starting lineups in the NBA, the Sixers are without a point guard who can shoot, perimeter defense, and depth. And Josh Harris, David Blitzer, and Adam Silver deserve most of the blame for that.