NBA Rumors: Markelle Fultz expect to play again this season; will it be in Philly?

NBA Rumors: Markelle Fultz reportedly expects to play again this season, but will it be with the Philadelphia 76ers?

Just a few days after Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand told reporters that he wasn’t sure if we’d see Markelle Fultz again this season, Fultz (through his agent) is now saying that he expects to be back at some point this season.

Before he makes a return, Fultz wants to make sure he’s back to 100 percent before putting himself out there. However, this is certainly good news. The fact that we – and the Sixers – could see Fultz at some point this season could help them in trying to decide whether they should move him or not.

Plus, it will give other teams potentially interested in making a move for Fultz to see if there really is something there. Not knowing if Fultz will even be back this season would be make for a huge risk for any team trading for him.

At least if he’s cleared and makes some sort of return, there would be a bigger chance that he could get moved by the NBA Trade Deadline.

Fultz played sparingly to start the season, and even started a few games. However, he was shut down a few weeks ago after he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. He is expected to miss a good chunk of time, but wasn’t given a clear timeline.

Though, this is certainly great news for Fultz, who is still trying to stabilize his young career. While there have been whispers of the Sixers potentially shopping Fultz over the last few weeks, but unless Philly is willing to take pennies on the dollar, it wouldn’t be smart for the Sixers to act rashly and trade him just to trade him.

The sooner Markelle Fultz returns, the more clearer this entire situation will get. And perhaps we may be only a few weeks from some sort of resolution.