With Jimmy Butler now a member of the Philadelphia76ers, the opportunities for playing time are slowly diminishing for Markelle Fultz as he continues to struggle. Is it time for Philly to trade their former first overall pick?
Despite several injuries to begin his NBA career last season, Markelle Fultz has really struggled to get in a consistent groove with the Philadelphia 76ers.
From his broken jump shot as of late to his lack of wanting to actually drive to the hoop and score, Fultz looks absolutely lost on the court. Even his playmaking skills have lacked, making far too many bad passes when he does get the chance to play.
He is averaging 23 minutes per game this season, scoring just 8.6 points per game and collecting 3.2 assists per contest. He is taking just 0.9 three-pointers per game, which is unacceptable for a guard who was hailed as one of the better long-range shooters coming out of the University of Washington last summer.
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He was the first overall pick for a reason, but I really don’t think he fits into Philadelphia’s plans for the future. The best thing for Fultz is to get traded at this point.
Fultz needs a fresh start
I’m not going to say that Fultz is a bust or doesn’t have what it takes to compete at the NBA level because regardless of what many critics are saying, I truly don’t believe that. Playing in Philly, there is obviously a lot of pressure to perform on a nightly basis with a very hardcore fan base. With his playing time being limited, he is struggling immensely to produce.
His jump shot is night and day from where it used to be when he was drafted as the number one overall pick. There is no flow to it, he is literally just flicking the ball with his wrists and it looks downright ugly. Everything about his game is bad right now.
With Jimmy Butler now in Philly, I really don’t see a place for Fultz in the starting rotation. If he did stay with the Sixers, I have my doubts that he’ll play even less than 23 minutes per contest with Jimmy Buckets leading this team now. We also know how intense Butler is with his teammates, and he could absolutely tear Fultz apart seeing him take broken jump shots like he’s been doing lately.
The best thing for Fultz is to go to a team who is not a contender in my opinion. No pressure, just get back into the groove of playing quality basketball. This guy was an absolute stud for the Huskies in college, averaging 23.2 points per game and attempting five 3’s per contest at a 41 percent clip. He started every single game in college, no injuries. Then as soon as he came to the NBA, he dealt with injury problems.
Apparently, there is nothing wrong with his health now, so there is really no excuse for this type of play from such a high draft pick. I just don’t think there is any coming back for Fultz with Philly.
Fultz worked with shooting coach Drew Hanlen all summer, who is one of the better coaches in the business, but it hasn’t seemed to help Fultz. They are reportedly not working together as of a couple weeks ago, so that could be part of the reason Fultz is struggling to shoot as of late.
In conclusion, he needs to be traded as soon as possible to a lower-profile organization where he can find himself again. The amount of pressure in Philly is just too much for him.
If he doesn’t get out of Philadelphia soon, it could end up being too late for Markelle Fultz and no team will want him if he continues to play at this caliber. The Philadelphia 76ers have more than enough to be a contender. They really don’t need Markelle Fultz anymore.