NBA Trade Rumors: It would behoove both sides to find a trade where Markelle Fult can showcase his other skills, and the Philadelphia 76ers can get a better shooter to space the floor
There are moments in time when a person or entity must realize that they have made a mistake which is preventing them from obtaining the goal they want to achieve. The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick in last year’s NBA draft because of his ability to shoot the ball from behind the arc.
According to DaftExpress, Markelle shot 38 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers in his lone season at the University of Washington.
Fultz’s shooting gave Philadelphia an opportunity to help prevent the opposing team from collapsing on Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons when they have the basketball. Head coach Brett Brown echoed those sentiments on draft night as he stated the following:
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"“There was no other player that I saw that was a better fit for [Embiid and Simmons] than Markelle,” Brown said. “When you look at his ability to shoot, when you look at his ability to create … he can coexist with Ben and Joel the easiest out of all of the [draftees].”"
Unfortunately, Markelle decided to make significant changes to his shooting form after the draft following the advice of his trainer, Keith Williams. Derek Bodner detailed some of the changes stating:
"These changes included an effort to quicken his shot, eliminate the dip in his shooting mechanics and bring his set point over to the right side of his body."
The changes turned Markelle into an awful shooter as he went from shooting 38 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers in college to 0 percent in his first NBA season. Consequently, the organization’s strategy behind drafting Fultz went up in flames because opposing teams would leave him open to collapse on Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Therefore, it would behoove both sides to find a trade where Markelle Fultz can showcase his other skills, and the organization can get a better shooter to space the floor. A possible deal that can work is D.J. Augustin and a first round pick for Fultz.
D.J. Augustin shot 43.8 percent on catch-and-shoot 3’s last season meaning that the opposing team can’t afford to leave him open because he’ll make those shots more often than not. On the other hand, Markelle gets to play for a coach in Steve Clifford who can put him in position to display his other skills.
Coming out of college Fultz was best known for his ability to excel in pick and roll situations. Mike Schmidt and Johnathan Giovanni formerly of DraftExpress stated that:
"” Fultz ranked as the second most efficient prospect in college basketball in pick and roll situations, both as a passer or scorer, according to Synergy Sports Technology. He is highly creative and unselfish in terms of getting teammates easy baskets, and enjoyed quite a bit of success as a distributor despite not having ideal talent around him or enjoying great spacing, often sharing the floor with two non-shooting big men”."
A possible trade to Orlando would allow Markelle to put this skill on display because Steve Clifford featured a heavy dose of pick-and rol- during his previous job with the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets ranked in the top 6 in pick and roll possessions during the last two seasons (2016-17 & 2017-18) with Clifford as the head coach.