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Philadelphia 76ers goaltender Markelle Fultz, number 1 pick in 2017, is expected to meet with a shoulder specialist early next week under the direction of her agent, Raymond Brothers.
Brothers confirmed to ESPN that Fultz would not participate in team or game training until the specialist evaluated him.
Speaking to reporters after the team trained in their facility in Camden, New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, Sixers head coach Brett Brown and General Manager Elton Brand said not being aware of problems with Fultz before Brand received a call from Brothers on Tuesday morning saying that the 20-year-old playmaker would not be playing until at least next week.
"There was nothing we saw medically that did not allow him to play," Brand said. "He played last night, he played two days ago.
"Since Jimmy Butler came [last week] and he was not starting, I thought he was playing pretty well. I was proud of him as he bounced back after a lot of things. "
Brand also seemed puzzled as to why Fultz would not have made an appointment until next week.
"I do not know how long he will stay," Brand said. "I know Monday is the consultation I asked:" Why Monday? He said: "It was the best day they could get an appointment."
"I thought they could move him for him," Brand added with a smile, "but I guess no, so Monday is the date, and then we'll know more."
Since the start of last season, Fultz has struggled with shooting problems that have confounded the Sixers and led to many exams of his right shoulder.
Last October, while he was recovering from his right shoulder injury, he was diagnosed with a scapular imbalance. He ended up only competing in 14 regular season games and three playoffs because of shoulder problems and was never comfortable with his shot.
These problems have been postponed to this season. Fultz spent the off season working with coach Drew Hanlan – who works with his teammate Joel Embiid, among many players in the NBA – but the same problems with his form of shooting have followed this year. Hanlen and Fultz have since disputed.
Fultz, 20, averages 8.2 points, 3.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game for Philadelphia. He gets 42% of the field.
Fultz played seven minutes in Monday's Phoenix win and was cleared for T.J. McConnell, who served as assistant goalkeeper for the Sixers. After the match, Sixers coach Brett Brown said that he did not know if Fultz or McConnell would be his substitute leader.
"It's kind of the first type of news of the red flag type," Brown said. "I played him 20 minutes something four days ago, and I thought he was playing well.In fact, I thought he was fine.I think he has a good year. It's one of those things, last night the gym was flat, we needed it I went with TJ, you know and I know that's what it does: it was an injection.
"It was not the result of everything Markelle did, we needed a shake, and he gave it to us, as none of us would be surprised to see. Should I take it off guard? But if it is as real, as it needs to go for further consultations, then we support it.
"In my eyes it is not complicated, if it is, then we will support it."
Brown scored Fultz in his starting lineup at the start of the regular season, despite Philadelphia's first five starts – Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Embiid – being among the top NBA players last season.
Shortly after, Brown announced that Redick would start the second half of the games and that Fultz would remain in the first five games at the beginning of the games. Once Butler's trade was consumed last week, however, and the Sixers had an alignment with three dominant stars (Simmons, Butler and Embiid) and a lack of spacing, Brown ended the experiment and brought Redick back to the starting unit. to give Philadelphia a much needed shot.
Now, however, we do not know when he will play again.
"The timing is such that it is," Brand said of Brothers' upcoming decision after Fultz was put out for the second half of the evening on Monday night. "I can not say that there is a direct correlation.I do not want to speculate.It is unfair to him.But I have received the call this morning and I am not sure. I informed coach Brown and my staff. "
Before drafting the NBA in 2017, then Sixers President Bryan Colangelo sent Philadelphia's No. 3 pick to the Boston Celtics in exchange for the # 1 pick that had been used to select Fultz. Boston selected Jayson Tatum with choice # 3.
As part of this transaction, Philadelphia will send the Celtics the rights to the most favorable choice: choosing the first round of the Sixers in 2019 or choosing the first round of the Sacramento Kings in 2019, provided that the most favorable choice is not the No. 1 choice in the draft. If the Kings' choice is No. 1 overall, Philadelphia will send its first player in 2019 to Boston.
"I would not say discouraging," said Brand about the new Fultz. "That's part of the job, that's what I signed up for.
"We have the right trends, we won three in a row, we managed a good exchange with Jimmy Butler … I would not say it's discouraging."
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