... Sixers end dysfunctional relationship with ill-fitting No. 1 pick Fultz
Markelle Fultz’s career with the Sixers was a washout after they traded up to take him with the first pick of the 2017 draft.
CAMDEN, N.J. >> As the 76ers opened their front door this week to a fresh supply of helpful players, they quietly allowed a failed talent to sneak out the back.
Even as the Sixers Thursday were presenting Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott, their haul from a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, Markelle Fultz was being traded to the Orlando Magic.
According to a league source, the Sixers’ secondyear guard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, was moved for veteran forward Jonathon Simmons, a protected 2020 first-round draft choice and a 2019 second-round pick.
Though the Sixers would not formally acknowledge the deal, Orlando’s president of basketball operations was quoted in a statement, saying, “We are extremely excited to welcome Markelle to the Magic family. This is an incredible opportunity for us to add a former No. 1 overall draft pick to our roster and to add depth to our backcourt. We will provide Markelle with the best possible support at his own pace and look forward to his future contributions.”
Thus ends a difficult, strange and brief chapter in Sixers history, which began when they traded with Boston to move up in the draft and select Fultz, who was as disappointing as he was chronically unavailable. In two seasons, he played just 33 games, and has not appeared at all since Nov. 19, when he went on a lengthy medical search to find the source of his odd inability to shoot with a comfortable motion. Diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, it’s unlikely Fultz will be instantly cured in Orlando. Just the same, the Sixers were able to move on, just three days after Brett Brown, for one, sounded like he’d had enough of it all.
“Right now we haven’t seen Markelle for how long?” the coach said. “And we all understand his progression back to the court has been sort of managed in a slow-type fashion.” He added that he was unwilling to assume Fultz would rejoin the Sixers this season. “It’s not smart, he said, “when you think like that.”
Simmons, 29, has played
41 games for Orlando this season, averaging 6.9 points but shooting only 22.9 percent from three-point range.
Earlier this season, in an effort to draw the best from him, Brown started Fultz. But the second-year guard from the University of Washington was too reluctant a shooter to help in the Sixers’ ball-movement offense. For the Sixers, he averaged 7.7 points.
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The Sixers made another minor deal Thursday, acquiring veteran forward James Ennis from Houston. The Sixers will give the Rockets the right to swap 2021 second-round picks.
Ennis, 28, has averaged 6.6 points in a fifth-year NBA career. With the Rockets this season, the 6-7 forward averaged 7.4 points while shooting 36.7 percent from behind the arc. He is known for his ability to switch at the defensive end, a Sixers priority.
To make roster space, the Sixers will waive Malachi Richardson, whom they acquired Thursday in a minor deal from Toronto.
The Sixers will be Ennis’ sixth NBA team since 2014.