1. Markelle Fultz (Orlando Magic)
- April 5, 1 p.m. (if playing)
It seems like Markelle Fultz is a distant memory to many 76ers fans, but he was their starting shooting guard (no jokes) at the start of last season and played with the team thru November 19. That was the date where T.J. McConnell played ahead of him in the second half of a game against Phoenix.
The next day, Fultz’s agent informed GM Elton Brand that Fultz would not play again until the problem with his shoulder was properly diagnosed.
It took 12 days but Fultz finally got a finding: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Although originally it was reported he could be back in as little as three weeks, Fultz’s absence extended longer and longer with no target date for a return.
It was basically a rerun of his rookie year, when he sat out most of the season with ‘shoulder’ woes until he was challenged by coach Brett Brown to be available near the end of the year.
Gearing up for the playoffs, and with large salary commitments looming the next two years if they wanted to retain Fultz, Brand decided it was time to end the distraction he had become. On Feb. 8 the Sixers traded the former No. 1 overall pick to Orlando for swingman Jonathon Simmons (who was terrible and traded in the offseason) and what will most likely be a couple of second round picks.
It was pennies on the dollar, and Orlando thinks they made a major steal getting Fultz, After all, he worked hard in the off-season, is a great kid and will be ready for training camp. Yada, yada, yada, we’ve heard this before.
Sixer management, coaches and players were always supportive of Fultz. J.J. Redick yelled at reporters for videoing all of his practice shots, Brown started him when his play did not deserve it and Brand, and before him Bryan Colangelo, were always publicly positive about his progress.
The Sixers stood solidly behind him even through the many whispers that all of Fultz’s problems were mental, and he really had a case of the ‘Yips’.
On a recent podcast, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, who is very plugged into the team, said, in his opinion, it was all in his head.
But the bottom line is, the 76ers gave up a lot to draft Fultz, stood by him throughout all his troubles and basically got nothing for all their loyalty to him.
Will Fultz ever become a top-flight player? Maybe, he is still young, but it was not going to happen in Philadelphia.
Due to a quirk in the schedule, the Magic only play in Philly one time, and it is late in the season. Assuming he is playing, Fultz can expect a certain reaction from the same fans who had gone out of their way to be supportive of him for two seasons: