If Markelle Fultz regains his health — and who knows at this point — is it farfetched to say the Orlando Magic have a top-five young core in the NBA?
The ongoing enigma in the NBA during the last three years has been the health of Markelle Fultz’s right shoulder.
Markelle Fultz was the top pick in a loaded 2016 NBA draft class, taken by the Philadelphia 76ers after they surrendered some of their assets to trade up to get the Washington Huskies guard.
Things did not go as planned. He played in only 33 games across two seasons dealing with a knee injury first and then a shoulder injury that knocked him finally out of the lineup.
The Philadelphia 76ers cut their losses by trading him to the Orlando Magic this offseason, where he spent the final months of last season rehabbing and getting accumulated with the Magic system.
Fultz’s talent and athletic profile have never been in question.
He was a top prospect that could do virtually everything on the floor: Shoot from everywhere, run the pick and roll, create for others, create space for himself, finish at the rim, run the fast break, defend across the perimeter and rebound well for his position.
There was a reason Markelle Fultz was a clear-cut number one above Jayson Tatum, Lonzo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, De’Aaron Fox and the rest of the class.
Fultz was dubbed the final piece of The Process with the 76ers. And that title will stick with him in Orlando, even if the expectations are a bit lower.
If Fultz is healthy, the Magic’s future catapults from the middle of the road, waiting for a lead guard to arguably a top-five young core in the entire NBA.
It all comes down to that shoulder.
There has been recent video of him shooting from midrange and it looks as clean as his shot has looked in a while. The hope is Fultz will continue to get the range of motion back in his shoulder while limiting the pain, which is when the Magic plan to bring him back to the rotation.
That got Magic Twitter abuzz. Even though Fultz has not played much, there is a lot of hope invested in this young player.
Everyone knows Fultz is one of the true wild cards for this team. If he is able to contribute anything — even if he looks like a rookie — he could turn the Magic into one of the most promising teams in the league.
But that promise is far from guaranteed. It is the mystery that seems to drive the intrigue in him forward.