If anything, the situation surrounding No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz isn’t getting enough attention. The Philadelphia 76ers rookie was absent for the 43rd consecutive game on Monday evening and, while there was a documented injury for Fultz, things have become quite bizarre to the point where head coach Brett Brown was quoted as saying the requirements for him to return would include being “able to shoot a basketball.”
Then, things took another turn over the weekend and Keith Pompey of The Inquirer shed additional list on another subplot. In short, ESPN’s Mark Jones, during the broadcast of a game between the Sixers and Thunder, indicated that Brown told ESPN about Fultz having “psychosomatic effects” with regard to his altered shooting form.
As you may expect, that did not go over well with the former Washington star, who was upset at the implication that his coach thinks his shooting problems are all mental. So Fultz responded by saying the following on Twitter while also sharing his disdain on Instagram.
You really can’t trust NO ONE !!
— Markelle Fultz (@MarkelleF) January 29, 2018
Following that potentially justified reaction from Fultz, Brown told the media on Monday that he was “completely misquoted” on the ESPN broadcast. Beyond that, he shared that ESPN was “very apologetic” after Brown went back to them with his outrage.
Brown wasn’t done there, though, as he said that ESPN used “a poor choice of words” while also saying that Fultz “knows the organization” and backing his player in expressing understanding of his reaction. In many ways, this story is off the rails in that the entire saga is shrouded in mystery and the No. 1 pick in the most recent draft is unable to see the floor as a result.
With every video that appears of Fultz shooting in any form, the scrutiny will intensify and, even if this particular hiccup is behind the player and team, nothing short of an on-court return and, frankly, success will do much to silence the whispers.
