Is Markelle Fultz Alive? A Weekly Update…
Introducing the Phifth Quarter’s newest weekly series, Is Markelle Fultz Alive? This series will highlight the comings and goings in the fast-paced, and often mysterious, life of everyone’s favorite former number one overall pick: Markelle Fultz!
When we last left our prodigal son, Markelle was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and his timetable to return was TBD. Adrian Wojnarowski broke the silence when he reported that Fultz would be returning to Philadelphia to continue rehabbing with the team. It was the first word we had heard on Markelle since news of his original diagnosis on December 4th.
Shortly after the Woj Bomb, Dallas Maverick’s rookie Luka Doncic became the second youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. Had Doncic been ten days younger, he would’ve set the record, but instead that honor still belongs to Fultz, who recorded a 13-point, ten rebound, and ten assist triple-double against the Milwaukee Bucks at the ripe old age of 19 years old and 317 days. Everything’s been coming up Markelle lately.
Last Monday night, Fultz made his first courtside appearance with the team since Christmas Day in Boston. So, we can now definitively confirm that Fultz is indeed still alive. He was seen sporting a solid groutfit, a grey crewneck sweatshirt with matching grey blazer and dress pants, along with his classic baby dreds. It was great to see Fultz at the end of the bench smiling and joking with his teammates, just like old times.
The Markelle moment of the week came at the end of the third quarter against the Houston Rockets. With the shot clock expiring, the Rocket’s James Harden chucked up a desperation three from deep and completely air balled it. Naturally, Fultz did what any of us would do in that situation, jumped to his feet and started laughing and sarcastically applauding. Not only is Fultz alive and well, but so is irony.
lmao fultz’s reaction to harden’s airball is something else pic.twitter.com/tA2rQao6MZ
— Drew Corrigan (@Dcorrigan50) January 22, 2019
Later on in the week, Derek Bodner reported that Fultz had been cleared to travel with the team during their west coast road trip, but was still limited to physical therapy. Bodner added that Brett Brown does not expect for Fultz to be ready to return to basketball activities by the end of this road trip. So while guys like Zhaire Smith and Justin Patton stay home and inch closer to a return to the court, we can assume any possible announcements about Markelle’s rehab will come after their road trip. But for now, we can appreciate the fact the Sixers are 3-1 since Fultz returned to the team and everyone seems happy to have him around. He might just be their good luck charm.
Unfortunately, not all of this week’s Markelle news has been good. Tim Bonteps of ESPN.com reported on Wednesday that Atlanta Hawks’ big Dewayne Dedmon had drawn some interest from the Sixers as a potential trade deadline target. Dedmon would be a nice piece for the Sixers, he would give them some defense, athleticism, and shooting off the bench, but in order to match contracts in a potential deal, Fultz would most likely be the odd man out given his $8.3 million salary this year. I like Dedmon, but I would have to pass if it means giving up Markelle and I’m not just saying that because this is the first edition of my new weekly column about the guy.
Dedmon is a free agent after this season, so he’s purely a rental. Trying to guess Fultz’ value on the trade market is a complete crap shoot right now. While his stock may be down, he’s certainly worth more than half a season of a rotational big man. If the Sixers can’t workout a trade for Dedmon sans Fultz, than I think they’re better off monitoring the buyout market.
That’s all your need-to-know Markelle info for this week. As the trade deadline quickly approaches, rumors are sure to swell of teams trying to buy-low on Fultz as the Sixers try to prepare for a playoff run.
Until then, let’s just be thankful that Markelle Fultz is alive.
