The 2017 NBA Draft will go down as one of the more controversial drafts in Philadelphia 76ers history. They were beginning to make a move forward with a rookie Ben Simmons leading the way and Joel Embiid heading into his second season and they already held the third pick in the draft due to a trade that former general manager Sam Hinkie made.
However, they got greedy. They saw something in Washington product Markelle Fultz as they looked to add to their talented core. So, they made a trade with the Boston Celtics and moved up to the number 1 pick and they selected Fultz, but what ensued was something that nobody could have predicted.
He played in a grand total of 33 games and there was a lot of off the court issues that dogged him throughout his time in Philadelphia. Then, he was sent to the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline of 2019 and he was able to rejuvenate his career a bit.
However, the move for Philadelphia had a major impact as they could have had a guy like Jayson Tatum who is having a helluva start to his career with the Celtics. The move to trade up for Fultz is arguably the worst move in the franchise’s recent history as Bleacher Report put it:
While losing season after losing season resulted in some high draft picks, those picks weren’t guaranteed to hit. Taking Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick in 2015 stings, especially with players like Kristaps Porzingis and Devin Booker still available at that point.
But no player has caused as much frustration and disappointment among Philly fans as Markelle Fultz.
Fultz averaged only 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists over two injury-plagued years before the Sixers traded him to the Orlando Magic for Jonathon Simmons, a top-20 protected 2020 first-round pick and a 2019 second-round pick. Fultz is now averaging 12.1 points and 5.2 assists as Orlando’s starting point guard.
Fultz is having a solid season with the Magic, but his time in Philadelphia will be remembered as one of the most tumultuous eras in the history of the franchise. [lawrence-related id=32325,32317,32300]