NBA Rumors: After being diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Markelle Fultz was expected to miss a few weeks. Now he may not return at all this season
After acquiring Jimmy Butler, the Philadelphia 76ers are humming and are a real contender in the Eastern Conference. Since the deal, the Sixers are 14-6 and are 22-12 overall, good enough for third in the East.
Nevertheless, despite their great start to the year, they still have this dark could lingering over their head. And that’s the unknown future of Markelle Fultz, who is currently sitting out with an injury and hasn’t played in a game since mid-November.
And according to Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand, there’s no guarantee that we’ll see Fultz again this season. If true, this would be a huge question in his overall basketball future. Certainly his future with the Sixers.
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"[via Basketball Talk]Brand said it was “to be determined” if Fultz will play again this season.“I can’t say right now,” Brand said.The GM expects to update Fultz’s situation in “a few weeks.”"
In his first season and a half in the NBA, Fultz has only appeared in 33 games and hasn’t looked great in any of those instances. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and was expected to be much more than what he’s been so far this season.
And that would be an understatement. From all indications, Fultz likely needs a fresh start if he’s going to continue his NBA career. And the likelihood that we’ll ever see him play another game for the Sixers keeps getting lower and lower with every inch of information that is leaking from Philadelphia.
The best outcome, probably for both teams, at this point is a clean break. Luckily for the Sixers, the Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have been so good that missing on the Fultz pick hasn’t hurt this team THAT much.
Even if Fultz never plays again this season, the Sixers will still be a contender in the Eastern Conference and will be one of the favorites to make the Conference Finals. Still, there’s no question that this team needs to move on from Markelle Fultz.