The Markelle Fultz saga in Philadelphia has somehow only gotten stranger this season, and it seems like each new day only peels back yet another layer to the ordeal. The former No. 1 pick hasn’t shown much improvement so far after a baffling rookie season in which his shooting mechanics regressed to something almost unrecognizable as he battled a rather nebulous injury that may be only part of the problem.
The mystery only deepened earlier this week when it was reported that Fultz would see a shoulder specialist at the advice of his attorney. That sort of disconnect between a player, his camp, and the organization rarely bodes well, and of course it wasn’t long before rumors emerged that Fultz might want to get a fresh start on his career elsewhere.
But on Wednesday, his agent Raymond Brothers quickly negated those rumors when he told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that they had not, in fact, requested a trade.
Raymond Brothers, the agent for Sixers guard Markelle Fultz, tells ESPN: “I have given no indication to Elton Brand or anyone else that Markelle would prefer to be traded. My focus is to get Markelle healthy. End of story.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 22, 2018
The million-dollar question is just how much of Fultz’s issues are physical and how much are mental, but it’s a tricky area regardless of the answer. The Sixers’ expectations have soared this season, especially with the recent addition of Jimmy Butler, and the pressure for Fultz to transform into a serviceable rotation player has been overwhelming. It’s also important to note Brothers’ phrasing, because while he said he’s given no indication Fultz wants out, all that means is he hasn’t requested a trade, and you can still think it might be time for your time to end somewhere without explicitly saying you want out.
Whether Fultz can recover amid all the relentless scrutiny in Philadelphia is an even bigger question, and it may ultimately determine his future with the organization.
