The strange and sad saga of Markelle Fultz continues in Philadelphia as the former No. 1 overall pick from 2017 looks to find his way as an NBA player.
Fultz has found himself starting for the Sixers this season, but that will likely change with Jimmy Butler coming to town. That move puts Fultz’s role in Philadelphia in question as it has become evident he was not capable of taking them to the next level as they hoped when they stood mostly pat this summer.
It hasn’t all been bad for Fultz, but his inability to shoot continues to be an issue despite a full summer of work to rehabilitate and rebuild that shot. Most of that work was done with trainer Drew Hanlen, who has a number of star NBA clients, but their relationship has apparently fractured to the point of them not only no longer working together but not being on speaking terms anymore, per Alex Kennedy.
Markelle Fultz and Drew Hanlen are no longer working together or on speaking terms, according to league sources. No word on why the two parted ways, but their relationship deteriorated about three weeks ago. Prior to this falling out, Fultz spent the summer training with Hanlen.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 13, 2018
This comes not long after Hanlen tweeted, then deleted, a defense of Fultz saying he’s still not healthy. The Sixers denied that to reporters who poked around and the timing of it all seems to indicate that, at the least, played some kind of role. As for Fultz, he continues to play through whatever issue he’s dealing with, but it’s clear he’s struggling to clear some mental hurdles with his shot, particularly at the free throw line, where Monday night offered up the most jarring hitch we’ve seen yet from him on an NBA court.
This is worse than we have ever seen Fultz's free throw form look. pic.twitter.com/FhCYpNpd5b
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 13, 2018
It’s painful to watch Fultz struggle to let the shot go. The closest comparison I can think of is Charles Barkley’s golf swing, as he’s spoken a number of times about how he can make a full swing in practice strokes but can’t get through the full process without stopping himself once it’s time to try and hit the ball. That seems to be Fultz’s issue now and for whatever reason, he’s decided Hanlen isn’t the one to help him through it anymore.
