[ChicagoCaseyParticipant]

 I’ve been off this site for a while. So I do not know how you guys feel about the Markelle Fultz situation in Philly. Many people are labeling him a bust and all that and saying that Philly gotted robbed in the trade with Boston. I say hold the breaks for a little bit and don’t put lables on such young prospects. Good or bad. Lots of things can happen throughout the course their careers. 

Kris Dunn is the face when diiscussing whether a prospect is a bust or not after one season. Many fans and media members wrote him off and called him a bust and now they are the ones that are praising him and how well he’s been playing with the Bulls. 

 I can admit that this Fultz/Philly situation is one of the strangest things that I’ve witness in sports, but I have to at least see him play to some extent to see what he’s got. From videos from the 76ers writers and bloggers, his jumper is coming along just fine and getting better after each day. 

Jayson Tatum has looked really impressive, but many people thought he would look really impressive when he came out. He was labled the most NBA ready prospect in years and was expected to put up numbers. I believe Boston and Philly got what they wanted in the trade. Sometimes there’s both winners and both losers. It don’t always have to be a loser and winner in trades, stop listening to BleacherReport and ESPN. Philly needed a guard that can work alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, while Boston needed a pro ready prosect/wing player. Philly didn’t need all those top picks. They have the luxery to waste one.

I still believe that Fultz will be the best player in this draft. He may not show that in this year, but eventually he will. What he did w/ Team USA, Washington, and in the SL was not a joke or a fluke. You guys are entitled to yout own opinion, but lay off broad judgement w/ how little we seen him play so far. 

* I know that this is horribly written.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The GoatParticipant]

 I agree, I think he’ll be a player. I think Philly’s happy with the choice – obviously not happy about the injury and his form – but no one can predict set backs like this. It is what it is. Philly got who they wanted. They did what they had to to make sure they got him. They  were never gonna get Tatum. He’s awesome but they weren’t looking for a guy in his mold, they didn’t want him, Boston did and would’ve drafted him 1 if the deal fell through. You have to be patient and block out the keyboard warriors. Fultz could come back in 2 weeks and play all 82 for the next 12 years while Tatum could do his ACL and this time next year people will be saying Philly got a steal.

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

its gotten scary, you don’t know who to trust.  Colangelo is a master at big collars and hot air.  He’s the opposite of Hinkie, Hinkie looked like a Computer Programmer that was antisocial, and Colangelo looks like a used car salesman thats speaks so much but tells you garbage, and both are frontmen of hte organization.

At least Hinkie created assets for this team, Colangelo brings in Booker and Bayless, so it isn’t exactly comforting that Colangelo is the one that made the Fultz trade.  Yes, Hinkie whiffed on Jah (who knows who had the ultimate say there), but Ainge is making deals with the Devil (Ainge), AFTER Boston got a private workout with Fultz.  I don’t trust Colangelo.

Tatum wouldn’t have been a sixer.  Likely Boston would get Tatum while the Lakers got Fultz, and if Fultz injury is what it is, the Lkaers would still be awful.

So the question for the Sixers is:

Would you rather have Josh Jackson (likely taken over Lonzo Ball) and Trae Young / Luka Doncic, or Fultz?  At this point, I’d rather have Jackson and Young or Doncic because all you need are decent players around Embiid and Simmons.

On that note, who do the Sixers take at 6 if the Lakers (please) finally give us that darn pick.  Would you take Michael Porter at 6 if both Young and Doncic are gone?  Jaren Jackson looks to be a solid player.  If I could I’d trade down a few spots and just take Mikal Bridges.  Or would you go Bamba if he’s there?

Philly needs priority-wise….

More defense at the guard.  More offense from a swing.  A better defending better shooting stretch 4.  A backup defensive center.

Jaren Jackson seems to address the stretch 4 defender very well…but he’d split time with Saric at the 4.  Basically Jackson is anbupgrade over Trevor Booker.

Mikal Bridges gives you a 2/3 hybrid that can shoot the 3 point ball.  He isn’t dynamic as a playmaker but he fits in really niely between Covington and Fultz and splitting time with Reddick.  He definitely could help this team  but is it too early to take him at 6?

Bamba would fit the backup to Embiid and yet again Embiid insurance role really nicely.  

Porter comes off an injury which has been the theme for the Sixers so do you want to deal with this again?

Doncic who for some reason is projected at 6 right now, appears to be a great fit.  Good size so adequate defense, very nice offensive game passing and scoring wise.  

 

 

 

So who would you take with the Lakers at 6?

With their own pick which will now likely be in the 20s based on the way they’ve been playing, I would take Lonnie Walker, ALonzo Trier, or stash Dzanan Musa.  

Just give an update over TLC, who right now is a Sixers development bomb fail.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[treytalkssports.comParticipant]

I like Fultz’s game, but this shot thing is scary. It looks like he has a fragile mind/confidence. 

If he can’t shoot from three reliablly, he doesn’t fit with Embiid and Simmons. Embiid can shoot a little from outside, but he is not a high usage threat out there yet. In the modern NBA, you can’t have 3 non-shooters on the court. 

On top of that, the Sixers commited to Covington, who is a below average shooter as well. 

I think they’d be better off trying to flip him to the Blazers for McCullom. 

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 Fultz has only played 4 games, so we cannot call him a bust. He is still getting shoulder discomfort when shooting, so it is either something he will have to play through as it will likely ease with time. If he was likely to be agrevating his shoulder in any way whilst shooting then Philly would not have him shooting.

I wonder if there is an underlying shoulder injury which they are hoping will heal with rest and rehab but it may require surgery which would put him out for longer so they may be reluctant to go down that route but may have to eventually.

 

[treytalkssports.comParticipant]

Even his coach thinks its a mental thing. He might have had some pain to begin with, but its definitely in his head now. 

Perhaps the initial inconsistencies with his shot were about his shoulder, but the hitch has nothing to do with the shoulder. I could believe that the problem was a shoulder injury if he was shooting lower or more of a set shot, but that’s not what’s happening. He raises the ball up and holds it there. That’s a mental thing. That’s aiming instead of shooting. 

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

Never liked his game, and predicted he’d perform well under expectations, but NO ONE can call him a bust yet. The kid’s played what, 4 games? Give him time. What worries me more than his current (unprecedented) shooting struggles are his glaring limitations. He’s not overly athletic, he’s long but struggles finishing in traffic, has to rely on spin moves to get by his man and is predictable and winds up lost in traffic, isn’t a natural passer, etc… and most glaring is he took a team that was ranked in the preseason that played a cupcake schedule and led them to less than 10 wins. That’s insane. I also believe that he completely underwhelmed in pre-draft workouts, which is why Ainge was so quick to swap picks. Having said all that, again, no one can label him a bust yet. Give the kid a couple of seasons.

[ChicagoCaseyParticipant]

It’s okay that you don’t believe he will be "that" good. But, I disagree with a lot of your points. It does seem like he struggled in the Boston pre-draft workout, but I wouldn’t trust anything that came from the media when regarding Boston. It been reported that he dominated the Lakers workout so much that the Lakers wanted to trade up to get him number one. And going along with the Lakers workout, he came in with a "40 vertical, I wouldn’t call him uber-athletic, but he’s a pretty good athlete. 

That Wasshington team was never nationally ranked/ Wasn’t in the preseason ot in the regular season. It’s a team game and he played with an super young team and a coach that got himself fired. You can’t expect an 18-year-old to carry a team filled with 2nd year players to the tournament. 

In college, he didn’t struggled in traffic, he shot above average, around 56%, while playing on a team that had no floor spacers. If he struggles in traffic, then Kyrie Irving "struggles" in traffic. And, he does have an unorthadox way of driving to the basket, but he doesn’t only use spin moves. He has a quick first step and uses plany dribble moves to get where he wants to go, think of Harden and DLo in that aspect.

He’s not a natural passer. But, he did average 6 assist per game in college when his Washington team was one of the worse 3 point shooting teams in CBB. 

 

 

 

 

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 My mistake. Thought I remembered them being ranked in the pre-season. Regardless, they were definitely predicted to win more than 9 games.

There is a ZERO percent chance that Fultz has a 40" vert. That is truly elite athletically, and would mean he would be able to get the top of his head 4" from the rim. Not a chance.

Comparing Fultz finishing in college against Nowhere State to Kyrie Irving finishing against NBA defenders is absurd. I can’t even take the rest of that argument seriously. 

So Fultz averaged close to 6 assists a game, but couldn’t make his teammates better and win games? Sounds like stat padding to me.

 

 

 

 

 

[Robb_CParticipant]

 My Question for you ChicagoCasey? How was I able to accurately make so many claims about Fultz and they end up all coming true? You guys can go back track the post yourself.

[EndlessknightParticipant]

It’s impossible to judge a player in only 76 minutes. Just look at Donovan Mitchell’s, Lonzo Ball’s and your fav Josh Jackson’s first 76 minutes. They all out up worse numbers than Fultz and the weren’t playing with a bad shoulder.

[Robb_CParticipant]

I think Fultz is overwhelmed by the speed and strength of the league.. some of you guys are clueless..

As I said before the College basketball season.. Hes not Harden and Hes not going to get away playing the way he does in College and in HS in the League..

He doesnt have the frame.. 

 Fultz sitting out all these games has more to do with him trying to figure out another approach.. 

His Confidence is gone

 

[EndlessknightParticipant]

Say it with me now “76 minutes” . There is no way to draw any meaning conclusions from such a small sample space. Even if he was healthy, which he wasn’t. It’s just not possible

Donovan Mitchell shot 16% in his first 68 minutes. Josh Jackson, the guy you had as the best in the draft, shot 36.6% in his first 89 minutes. And both of those guys were healthy.

[Robb_CParticipant]

 Great.. it took The 76ers and Fultz a first round pick a multi million dollar contract and 76 minutes to figure out Fultz is struggling..

Im sure this topic will come up again.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BeastMode716Participant]

 the consensus #1 pick. It was just a weird situation that Boston had the #1 & already had a stud scoring point guard so it made absolutely No sense for the C’s to Draft Fultz

But having the #1 pick in a Draft w/ what looked like & still might be such a can’t miss stud in a League where EVERY team is Dying to land a 3 level scoring pg w/ Fultz’s crazy good size, athleticism, length & skill & since Boston was selling the chance to come get a talent like that you Knew it was going to be a High price & it Should be

Even if Fultz turns into a hall of famer, Boston absolutely did the right thing for their franchise b/c they could end up w/ Tatum & Ayton for that #1 pick. But even if that pick turns into Sacramento 2019 #10 Lottery pick it was still the right move.

And conversely for Phila, even if Fultz turns into a complete bust they still made the right move. Embiid & Simmons are both freak of nature studs. The final piece to their puzzle was a scoring high level scoring combo guard who could fit w/ Embiid & Simmons – Fultz looked like the Perfect fit & if you look at the 2018 & 2019 talent evaluations at that time, there was No one w/ Fultz’s unique skill set at that position in either draft so even though Phila owned the Lakers & Kings Lottery picks unprotected in each of the 2018 & 2019 Drafts what good would those picks be if the players available are at positions they don’t really need? Especially when you cinsider Phila already went thru a mess w/ Okafor, Noel & Embiid – they Def don’t want to go thru that again. 

That looked like a trade where Both teams won. Right now it looks like a disaster for Phila. Personally I believe Fultz will be fine. He’s just way too talented. I just think he is So far behind this year & Brett Brown has that team playing reallu well. He has a solid 10 man rotation & he just doesn’t want to throw a 19 y/o rookie into the mix b/c he’s not trying to develop a kid this deep into the season. Fultz just needs to keep working w/ the team & eventually he’ll be up to speed even if that doesn;t happen until next season he don’t turn 20 until June. 

19 years old #1 overall draft pick – that is a Very rare talent. Way too soon to give up on a kid that talented w/ that kind of size at the point guard position. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robb_CParticipant]

I wrote Fultz off as a legit One and Done, Im on record saying it will be a mistake if he declares,  he was never ready.. Im also on record stating I question his durability etc etc

I was on the money with every question mark I had on Fultz.

What cracks me up is people attempting to save face claiming this was something completely bizarre that happened, Yet I was writing indepth reports on my eval of Fultz before the College Season and way before the draft.. 

 

You guys were wrong.. move on deal with it.

 

 

[IlladelphParticipant]

well, compared to recent 1st overall picks who were guards:  D Rose, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving, Fultz is wayyy behind.  But with his injury and having missed so many games it is hard to say that he is a bust.  So far I definitely don’t see him on the level of previous guards at the 1st overall pick level.  The shot thing is really concerning.  The idea that a 1st overall pick is having confidence issues with his shot is a huge red flag.  I don’t recall D Rose, Wall, or Kyrie having any issues with confidence.  If you are the first overall pick, you better be alpha AF.   

[90sNYKParticipant]

 Fultz is purposefully being held out, just like they pulled Embiid early even when he could’ve played and again with Simmons. this is just business as usual for the 76ers, they’ve figured out the formula to develop young guys, redshirting. look at the success that Simmons if having with that one year of pro prep. its no coincidence, I would be shocked to see Fultz this year for more than 5 games before they pull him again. they will let the media run with the idea that he cant shoot but by the time he steps into game situations his for would have been reconstructed and he would have shot enough shots to have the muscle memory mechanics. I trust the process and attribute all the success to Hinkie, I wish the Knicks would have gone after the Hinkster.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

No we gave JJ Reddick 20+ million dollars for this year and extended RoCo to compete in the playoffs this year not to get another high pick which is why we traded a pick for Fultz in the first place.  Fultz was clearly hurt the first 4 games and they still played him which goes completely against the they’re holding him out on purpose illogic.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

The only thing exceptionally odd about Fultz situation is how uncommon his injury was and the fans who refused to believe he had a real injury despite the eye test.  It was odd the Sixers decided to play him despite the injury but it wasnt really an injury pro basketball teams ever had to deal with before.  It was more of a weight lifters, and swimmers injury.  Overhand athletes.  Fultz continually tweaking his shot didn’t help.

But the core issue here is a legit shoulder injury that although has healed he’s still rehabbing from it.  Questioning his mental toughness is ridiculous  as he’s in this spot because he tried playing through the injury.  He is likely struggling with confidence as he’s a 19 year old kid but he’ll learn to deal with it.

 

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