Brown, Brand upset Fultz never panned out in Philly

CAMDEN, N.J. >> At some point, at some price, whenever it was right, Elton Brand knew he would have to make a decision. That decision came Thursday, and at a steep, hidden cost. For a cut-rate price, in garage-sale fashion, with little if any accompanying fanfare, he was able to rid the 76ers of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. So, what happened, anyway? How did the Sixers go from trading up in a draft to select Markelle Fultz to basically handing him over to the Orlando Magic less than two years later at pennies on the dollar?

Something went wrong. What, exactly?

“My opinion, the injury,” Brand was saying Friday, in a quiet moment after a formal, post-tradedeadline press briefing.

Might have been that. Might have been the thoracic outlet syndrome that affected his shoulder, which mangled his shooting form, which rendered him unable to contribute to a serious NBA basketball program.

As for Friday, a day after bringing back a first-round pick, a second-round pick and veteran forward Jonathon Simmons, Brand was just willing to allow the episode to sink into Sixers history.

“I think a fresh start might help him,” Brand said. “Just coming back, I think that’s truly what happened to him.”

For years, for decades, Fultz will be remembered as a historically colossal draft bust, with Bryan Colangelo enduring as a punch line. When the story of the Sixers’ “process” is told, it either will culminate in how it led to a championship or why inexplicable talent decisions caused it to collapse.

As for Brand, he didn’t draft Fultz. He wasn’t the mark at Danny Ainge’s card table. He was not made to believe that an inbetween-sized guard who’d helped his team win only two conference games in his only college season was a developing superstar. He wasn’t the one swept up in draft mania gone horribly wrong. He just had Fultz bequeathed to him, so it was up to him to finance the inheritance tax.

“The goal there was that we expected him to be back sometime this season,” Brand continued to insist Friday. “But right now, we had a chance to add a player, to add some wing depth. So we decided to do it now.”

That explanation was as necessarily tactful as it was cleverly shielded by more relevant discussion. It was almost as if the Sixers waited until they completed their four-star starting lineup with the acquisition of Tobias Harris to allow the news of the Fultz trade to drip. By the time Brand formally surfaced Friday, the relevant and predictable questioning was about how the Sixers were able to add some key pieces, not about the piece that they had subtracted.

In that, Fultz’s Sixers career ended the same way it played out: In relative silence.

“It is disappointing,” Brand said. “Because if he was the No. 1 pick that we thought at the time, we might not have made other moves. He is a likable person. We like him as a person. We wish him the best. But, yes, it was disappointing.”

Fultz gave the Sixers 33 games in parts of two seasons. He had enough opportunities, including some as a starter earlier this season, to show what he could do, but he was a frighteningly hesitant shooter whose passive style was a hindrance at the offensive end. His long arms often enabled him to dislodge the ball when it was rebounded by an opponent. And with his speed, he occasionally showed value at the point, particularly when provided with a running start that forced defenders into panicked retreat. Too often, though, he was barely guarded at all.

When he was proven to lack first-team-level NBA skills, Fultz went on a mission to find an answer. Finally, he was diagnosed with a condition that affects the nerves and veins in his shoulder area. With that, he ceased playing Nov. 19, and only recently had resurfaced with the Sixers, generally spending game nights in civilian clothes on the bench. Realizing that the atmosphere was ripe for the Sixers to make a push toward a championship this season, Brand could no longer afford to keep a roster spot open for a player cheerleading on the bench.

With that, it was over, an experiment that never worked.

“Toward the end, I wondered if it would,” Brett Brown said. “I would be lying if I didn’t start wondering a lot. I’d be lying if I didn’t feel sad. I had two emotions. I was sad, personally, selfishly. I suppose that I never really felt that I got the chance to coach him. I never felt that the city got a chance to see him. I felt sad for that. And I was pleased for him that he had a new start, a fresh start, and another opportunity.”

The newest Simmons on Brown’s roster might help, once the medical tests are completed and the trade is declared official.

“He addresses a need,” Brand said. “He can shoot the three. He can defend. He will help us.”

That was the idea with Fultz. But at the end, his situation was little more than an organizational disturbance.

“I wouldn’t be truthful if I didn’t say it could have been a distraction at times,” Brand said. “Recently, it wasn’t. He worked hard. He worked tirelessly. And his teammates enjoyed his time with them. But I can say over the past two years, the fans and his teammates loved him.”

At least up until that all proved far too costly.