Philadelphia 76ers: Unfortunately, that Markelle Fultz quote is fake

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Does the NBA hate the process? They certainly did in 2016, when Adam Sliver forced Jerry Colangelo onto a Philadelphia 76ers squad about to strike gold in the NBA Draft lottery, and again in January of 2021, when the team had to play a game with seven players due to a particularly expansive bout with COVID that left half of the team unable to play.

And now, if a quote attributed to Markelle Fultz is to be believed, there might be a third – or fourth or 100th – infraction to add to the Charlie Kelly-style conspiracy board, as the Orlando Magic guard claims the NBA tampered to prevent Joel Embiid from winning the league MVP.

A bold claim? You bet, but after spending three seasons with “The Emperor’s Egg” on their face, the NBA doesn’t want to validate The Process by giving its (nick)namesake player its ultimate prize… at least according to Shonda Brown of GrundleSports.

Conjecture? You bet. A fake quote? Almost certainly, but hey, after all of these years, Markelle Fultz still really does bleeds red, white, and blue, even if he never would have been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers if it wasn’t for the NBA’s meddling.

If the Philadelphia 76ers don’t hire the Colangelos, they don’t get Fultz.

Markelle Fultz was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers for one reason and one reason alone: He was a favorite of the Colangelos. After amassing an ever-expanding collection of draft picks during his time in South Philadelphia, Sam Hinkie wasn’t going to trade away two first-round picks for the rights to move up two spots in the 2017 NBA Draft for his pick of the litter, and he darn sure wasn’t going to do so in what might have proved to be his final chance at a top-3 pick for the foreseeable future.

Now granted, maybe Fultz would have slipped to the Sixers at three, and he still would have ended up being the team’s draft pick. The Los Angeles Lakers felt destined to draft Lonzo Ball second overall regardless of who the Sixers and/or the Celtics opted to draft at one, and that probably wasn’t going to change if Jayson Tatum still ended up in Celtics green. Then again, what if some other team really wanted Fultz’s services? Remember, this was a guard lauded for his speed, length, and ability to do-it-all on the offensive end of the court; if the Sixers didn’t want a guard being called the next James Harden, some other team surely would, and they likely would have paid a premium to move up and take him off the board.

Is there a world where Fultz never injures his shoulder in South Philly and becomes a Ja Morant-esque offensive scorer on another team, and the Sixers find themselves with two more first-round picks and a player like Jonathan Isaac – a real Sam Hinkie-type player – instead? How would that have affected the team’s pursuit of Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and eventual ability to draft Tyrese Maxey in 20202? Would Daryl Morey and/or Harden ever end up in Philadelphia? *whispers* does Ben Simmons ever leave?

That, my friends, is the problem with extrapolating out a future “What If”-style; things get out of control in a hurry.

Tyrese Maxey has a very real case for MIP. dark. Next

Ultimately, the Philadelphia 76ers made the most of the Markelle Fultz situation. They traded his contract to free up cap space, used it to sign the wrong player to a max contract, and were able to secure the draft pick eventually used to draft Tyrese Maxey, a player with a remarkably similar game to what folks expected from Fultz all of those years ago. And as for Fultz? Well, he came on strong down the stretch and now looks like a prime candidate to draw strong trade interest this offseason. In the end, I guess things worked out well for all parties involved, except for Joel Embiid, who is being unfairly persecuted by the NBA for being the prize at the end of The Process… at least according to a fake quote attributed to Markelle Fultz.