Although there have been a plethora of stories hyping Markelle Fultz’s remarkable ‘comeback’, the bottom line is that he is playing at the same level as when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers. He is not a bad player, but he was a bad fit for the 76ers and the decision to trade him has been proven correct.
One of the big early stories of the NBA season has been the return of Markelle Fultz to the hardwood.
A torrent of articles about how the 6-foot-4 now-Orlando Magic guard is ‘back’ and playing basketball is a natural feel good story.
A quick Google search comes up with a bunch of stories slathering praise on the 2017 No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft for his return to competitive basketball after a 10-month absence:
- Markelle Fultz might go down as greatest trade acquisition in Orlando Magic history (Orlando Sentinel)
- The Magic’s Markelle Fultz Gamble Is Starting to Look Pretty, Pretty Good (The Ringer)
- The Rush: Caron Butler predicts a monster year from Markelle Fultz (Yahoo! Sports)
- ‘He was the difference in the game’: Markelle Fultz sparks Magic in their season opener (The Athletic, subscription required)
And this was all written before he even played two games of the regular season.
No need to rehash the entire Markelle Fultz saga, it you are reading this story you probably know it. If you want the details, just go here, here and here.
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Cliffs Notes version: then-Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo traded up with Boston to get the No. 1 overall pick to get Fultz, the do-everything guard out of the University of Washington. He and the previous year’s No. 1 overall selection, Ben Simmons, were suppose to be the Sixers’ starting backcourt for the next 10 years.
During training camp of his rookie season (he was fine in summer league), Fultz complained about shoulder problems and did not play until the very end of the season, when coach Brett Brown basically called him out on it.
The next year, after reportedly shooting 10,000 shots over the summer, Fultz started with Simmons in the backcourt for a time. He made a few three-pointers early on but his shot deteriorated and, eventually, J.J. Redick regained his starting spot and Fultz was made the backup point guard.
When, in the second half of a game against Indiana, Brown put in T.J. McConnell instead of Fultz in November 2018, Fultz’s agent told the team the next day he was not going to play again until his shoulder problem was fixed. It took 10 days but the agent (not the Sixers, they had zero to do with this) announced Fultz had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and would begin rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation period was supposed to be three to six weeks but when that time came and went, general manager Elton Brand decided they had enough of the distraction and on February 7 traded Fultz to Orlando for Jonathan Simmons (who was awful and traded in the offseason), a protected first-round pick via Oklahoma City (which will most likely convert to two second-round picks) and a 2019 second-rounder (which would be sent to Boston as part of the Matisse Thybulle trade).
So the No. 1 overall pick went for a journeyman player and a bunch of second-round draft picks.
And you know what?, in hindsight, Brand was 100-percent correct to make the trade.
Let me be clear that, in no way, am I saying that Fultz is a bad player. He is not Anthony Bennett, a former No. 1 overall pick who can not even get a spot on an NBA roster. And this is not personal, all reports say he is a super nice kid (and I like Chick-fil-a too),
However, based on his preseason and early NBA action with the Magic, two things are quite clear:
- Fultz is the exact same player he was in November 2018 when he stopped playing for the 76ers.
- He was a poor fit in the Sixers lineup and that, plus the distraction of a No. 1 pick not panning out, was something a team with title aspirations can not afford to have.
As to the first point, all you have to do is look at the statistics.
Remember, Fultz was a key player for the Sixers last season for the first quarter of the season. He had some good moments as he actually led the Sixers to a win on November 1 over the Tobias Harris-led Clippers.
Fultz played with energy, he was fast, could pass and with his length was developing into a pretty good defensive player. The one thing he could not do was shoot a basketball.
When Fultz hit the first 3-pointer of his career, it was treated like the biggest sports happening in Philadelphia since the Eagles won the Super Bowl. But that did not lead to more success from outside from Fultz … for whatever reason. He also struggled from the foul line, which hurt as he was good at slashing to the basket and getting foul calls.
For his 76ers career (all of 33 games) he finished with a three-point shooting percentage of 26.7 percent, had a 41.4 percent field goal percentage and was 53.4 percent on free throws.
Since the regular season has just started, let us use Fultz’s time in the preseason (stats courtesy Fox Sports) for the Magic (where he was at times going against players now in the G-League or cut) as an indicator of where his game is at the moment.
Fultz in six games did not make a three-pointer (going 0-for-6) and was 66.7 percent on free throws. He shot overall 31.5 percent overall from the field.
So the TOS-troubled version of Fultz the Sixers had somehow was shooting better (except for foul shots) then the current, healthy version of Fultz that Orlando has?
A lot has been made about how Fultz was ready for Magic training camp and has participated in all their practices and games. Well, last year Fultz was there from Day One of 76ers training camp and practicing and playing regularly until he left the team.
Oh, and for the Magic in his first NBA game, Fultz was 0-for-3 from three-point distance. He was making mid-range jumpers, but he also did that with the Sixers. It was the long-range stuff that was the problem, and apparently still is.
For Orlando, a team that was the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference last year, Fultz is a welcome addition. He should shore up their point guard position and give them a boost off the bench. The trade was not a Sam Hinkie-Sacramento Kings trade fleecing, For what they gave up, Orlando received a good player who should help them make a run at the playoffs.
But, point number two, Fultz would never have worked out in Philly unless they decided to dump Ben Simmons (Note: Not happening).
As we all know, Simmons does not shoot from the outside, with one recent exception. He also is not very good on foul shots.
For the Sixers to pair two guards who can not make free throws or shoot from beyond the arc in today’s 3-point happy NBA would be, well, insane. Coach Brett Brown tried it at the beginning of last season but when Fultz’s jumper went south, he was moved to the bench.
The Sixers drafted Simmons with the knowledge he was not going to become the next J.J. Redick. Fultz is a different story. He shot 40 percent from three-point range in college. Reportedly, he did not shoot well before the draft in a tryout with Boston, which made them lean more toward Jayson Tatum and accept the Sixers trade offer.
But Fultz’s ‘Hesi pull up jimbo‘ looked solid in summer league after the draft.
When Fultz’s jumper fell apart, for whatever reason, his days in Philly were numbered. He was basically supposed to be a much-better version of Josh Richardson, someone who could shoot and score to play along Simmons as a starter and then move to the point when Simmons was out.
You can not have your No. 1 overall pick be a benchwarmer, far too distracting and he won’t be happy anyhow. However, when you’re non-shooting All-Star point guard plays 38-40 minutes a game, where the heck can you play him?
By early 2019, the kid was struggling, the team was trying to move on but couldn’t since he is still there without a meaningful role and no date of return. Who knows when Fultz will fulfill his potential, the Sixers waited a year-and-a-half. And all of this was under intense media glare because it was a great story, which made it an even bigger distraction.
In the end, there was only one thing Brand could do: Shop Fultz around and get the best deal possible.
The Magic seem happy and if, one day, Fultz becomes the player he was supposed to be on Draft Day 2017, hey, they lucked out and more power to them.
A team like the 76ers, on a title quest, had no patience for potential or waiting for a player ‘magically’ discovering his jump shot again. Although Orlando is the site of the “Magic Kingdom’ that has not yet happened there yet, either.
If the current version of Fultz is what he will be for the rest of his career, which is pretty good but a non-shooting threat, then Elton Brand’s trade of him is completely validated.