Recently, the Philadelphia 76ers received some good news as the agent for Markelle Fultz told ESPN that the second-year guard would return this season after he was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome earlier this month. He has not played since November 21.
Fultz has been rehabbing his injury in Los Angeles, and the 20-year-old guard recently joined the team in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve, but at this point, there is no timetable for his return, which was expected to be 3-to-6 weeks. Fultz will return to Los Angeles to finish up his rehab, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 2017 number one overall pick has struggled with his shot since entering the league, and at this point according to Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, Fultz has been a bust.
“I hate to be the one to say this, but he’s been a bust for them,” Pippen recently said on ESPN’s The Jump. “It’s very obvious now that he’s not the player that they drafted. They realize that, and I’m sure they are not finding any takers for him, so I do think that this is the last of this young man that we will see probably in a Sixers uniform. I don’t know if they will have to eat his contract or what, but right now, his future just doesn’t look good. To be the top pick in the draft, and just not able to bring anything, no value to the game at all. I feel sorry for the young man, to be honest.”
I do think Fultz will play again for the 76ers. The team has invested too much into him to give up on him now. While I respect Pippen’s opinion, I think it’s way too early to call Fultz a bust. He’s been playing with an injured shoulder. Therefore, until he gets healthy, the jury is still out what Markelle Fultz will be as a player.