Feel better, Magic & # 39; s Fultz has high hopes

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ORLANDO, Florida – The kickoff of Markelle Fultz on the Orlando Magic practice field was given on Wednesday. He let a 3-pointer fly from the left corner and turned to party even before the ball went through the goal.

After two years of trouble, he feels good again.

Injuries to the shoulder that have kept him out of court for most of the two seasons since being named No. 1 in the 2017 draft are now supported – he hesitates to say that he is cured – and Fultz should be a full participant in the practice. when Magic Training Camp starts next week. This is a significant step forward, although the Magic also knows that it will have to proceed with caution.

"Dude, I always have joy whenever I get involved here no matter what happens," Fultz said after training. "As I learned quickly, you can not take it for granted – you never know when it will be stripped of you."

His shot is still a work in progress. Some of his riders on Wednesday were perfect, others were riddled and some took an ugly course towards the front of the ledge. His release does not seem to be the same as during his university season in Washington, part of the reconversion he's done to treat his shoulder problems.

But he is on the floor. This is a major step forward.

"We will stay patient," said Magic president Jeff Weltman. "We will not set any expectations or schedule for his development, he has not played basketball for a year, and has played 33 games in his career. unfold as it happens. "

Fultz has played 33 regular season games in his two NBA seasons. His problems at the shoulder – first called a scapular imbalance, a stylish way of saying that the shoulder joints were not working well together – have come out of training for the first time after just four games of his rookie season with Philadelphia. He missed 68 games this season before coming back for the last few weeks.

Last season was also problematic.

Fultz started the first 15 games in Philadelphia before things went bad. He doubled a free throw in a Miami match and was later widely ridiculed on social media. A short time later, he was diagnosed with a new problem: neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition characterized by compression of the blood vessels or nerves around the collarbone and first rib.

"A lot of people would never play with what I had and knowing that they could not shoot the ball," Fultz said.

By the time the doctors understood what was really hurting, Fultz had played his last match with the 76ers. The Magic traded Jonathan Simmons and a set of selection projects in Philadelphia to acquire Fultz in February. He never played for the Magic last season, although the decision last week by his $ 12.3 million option for 2020-2021 makes it clear that Orlando believes in Fultz.

"It was obvious," said Weltman.

Fultz said that he was not motivated to silence the skeptics. But if that was the case, it would not surprise Mike Jones. He is the trainer of DeMatha High Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, a perennial national powerhouse – the school where Fultz played.

Jones was also the coach who did not choose Fultz as a student when he was in grade two.

"His whole career has proven that people were wrong," Jones said. "When he was not elected here, I really believe that he spent the next two years here to make sure I knew it was a mistake." And now, I think he wants people to continue to doubt him – because he's going to show them. "

Lorenzo Romar, the Fultz coach in Washington, shares the same sentiment.

Fultz spent some time with Pepperdine coach Romar last season. They did not talk much about his injury – "the elephant in the room" is so described by Romar. Romar trained Magic goaltender Terrence Ross in college, closely followed the career of Aaron Gordon striker and knows Orlando's progress last season by qualifying for the series for the first time since 2012.

Adding Fultz to this mix, Romar said, will only make Orlando better.

"I know the pieces that they have in this team," said Romar. "When Markelle comes back and resumes his pace, he's as good a leader as you can find him, he's a sports wizard, you put him in touch with the rest of that group when he gets his pace, they could be special. "

Fultz does not disagree.

He said that he was dreaming of the day when he could again play 5 against 5 in a real match. He enthusiastically tells Magic coach Steve Clifford what the medical staff of the team did for him. He spent a lot of time last season familiarizing himself with his injury, sending people to Los Angeles to work with him during the off-season, and then assembling the A Good Balance Between Field Work, Rest and Rehabilitation in Orlando. .

His game is coming back. His confidence is always there.

"I was the first choice for a reason," Fultz said. "I knew I was working hard and I could do on the basketball court – it's all that matters."

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