Markelle Fultz Updates Thread

[MagicFan101]

I hope everyone tempers their expectations though.

Soooo, what exactly are you suggesting here?

Only 3 MVPs and 2 rings? That would definitely be a buzzkill but alright. I can live with just that.

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

I'll do a recap.

[Slartibartfast]

Let's not continually shift the goalposts right now at least. Half of the NBA/even our own fans didn't think he'd be ready for training camp let alone play any meaningful minutes for us, and we're already critiquing the shot? I don't think it ever looked perfect, but if he at least looks comfortable shooting the ball, that's all we should hope for. I literally heard someone say "It doesn't look like Devin Booker's or Klay Thompson's..." and if that's the expectation that some people have.. then wow.

The release doesn't seem to be in sync with the rest of his body, but I'm not really going to read much into it right now.

I'm not as excited as everyone else because it was always my expectation that he would play sooner or later. He could only ride the rehab thing for so long.

I hope everyone tempers their expectations though. There is a learning curve and pretty much every rookie point guard struggles out of the gates. Some show demonstrable improvement over the course of their rookie seasons, but almost every one of them is a net negative on the floor. There are going to be a lot of bumps on the road and we've seen how quickly people turn on our prospects.

680 NBA minutes. Two years of NBA coaching and physical maturation. Not saying there won't be more learning curve, but he's more seasoned than a rook. If he's healthy, I think he should have a shorter physical/mental adjustment than a first year PG. The speed/physicality of the game won't be unfamiliar. I think his positive/negative impact will largely be an effect of whether or not he can shoot or score efficiently.

[yoyojw17]

Read on Twitter

I'll do a recap.

[PrimeThyme]

Let's not continually shift the goalposts right now at least. Half of the NBA/even our own fans didn't think he'd be ready for training camp let alone play any meaningful minutes for us, and we're already critiquing the shot? I don't think it ever looked perfect, but if he at least looks comfortable shooting the ball, that's all we should hope for. I literally heard someone say "It doesn't look like Devin Booker's or Klay Thompson's..." and if that's the expectation that some people have.. then wow.

The release doesn't seem to be in sync with the rest of his body, but I'm not really going to read much into it right now.

I'm not as excited as everyone else because it was always my expectation that he would play sooner or later. He could only ride the rehab thing for so long.

I hope everyone tempers their expectations though. There is a learning curve and pretty much every rookie point guard struggles out of the gates. Some show demonstrable improvement over the course of their rookie seasons, but almost every one of them is a net negative on the floor. There are going to be a lot of bumps on the road and we've seen how quickly people turn on our prospects.

I think thats important because at the end of the day with the number of career games he has logged this will essentially be his rookie season. NBA coaching and maturing physically is one thing, but nothing can ever truly replicate game experience.

I wasn't expecting him to be here for camp. Hearing Weltman say he was healthy and would be a full go was enough to get me excited, but I can see why others would still have reservations.

I'm not expecting him to light the world on fire this season. I do expect him to at the very least give that second unit some juice and should be a much-needed playmaker for someone like Bamba who played with Grant for the majority of the season. Just getting him out there was the first step. Now let's see if we can continue to develop him into something more. I expect the shot will continue to be a work in progress, but he provides enough other stuff in the shorter term to make up for it.

[SOUL]

If he excels this season it's because he'll be the only guard worth a damn that will drive to the hole consistently. That's the only way DJ will lose his spot, because he obviously has weaknesses in the passing game, assuming his shooting will stay as good as it has.

[PrimeThyme]

If he excels this season it's because he'll be the only guard worth a damn that will drive to the hole consistently. That's the only way DJ will lose his spot, because he obviously has weaknesses in the passing game, assuming his shooting will stay as good as it has.

It will be interesting to see how they use him. Fultz mentioned in one of his interviews the fact that he can help this team win with his ability to play multiple positions as if this has been discussed with the coaching staff. It would be nice to see him get some burn with AG/Isaac in early stretches this year. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a lineup like DJ/Fultz/Isaac/AG/Vuc.

Not sure how much success he would have at the 2 (depending on how far along his shot is) but I'm definitely expecting Clifford to experiment a bit.

[BadMofoPimp]

Read on Twitter

Best part for me is seeing Fultz in contact drills with DJ and Isaac.

[basketballRob]

My goal for Fultz this season is to play 70-80 games and get 20-30 mpg.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[Xatticus]

If he excels this season it's because he'll be the only guard worth a damn that will drive to the hole consistently. That's the only way DJ will lose his spot, because he obviously has weaknesses in the passing game, assuming his shooting will stay as good as it has.

It will be interesting to see how they use him. Fultz mentioned in one of his interviews the fact that he can help this team win with his ability to play multiple positions as if this has been discussed with the coaching staff. It would be nice to see him get some burn with AG/Isaac in early stretches this year. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a lineup like DJ/Fultz/Isaac/AG/Vuc.

Not sure how much success he would have at the 2 (depending on how far along his shot is) but I'm definitely expecting Clifford to experiment a bit.

That's true. His effort at the defensive end in college was really sketchy, but it will be interesting to see how our defense fares with a switchable and capable defender at the guard position. We talk about how much value there is in having guys like Gordon and Isaac that are capable of switching onto and defending anyone, but that is heavily mitigated by the fact that a switch involving Fournier or Augustin is creating a significant mismatch.

I don't at all mean to sound pessimistic about Fultz. I'm very hopeful, but I'm also realistic about the learning curve that point guards face. You could certainly draw optimism from the seasons that Young, Sexton, and SGA had this season, but each one was a net negative on the season. This board collectively fell in love with Dennis Smith Jr., but we have seen how much he has struggled through two seasons. Getting on the floor is the first step. Success isn't a foregone conclusion. Fultz might very well significantly harm our chances of getting to the playoffs this season, but this is all about the long game for me.

I'm expecting him to struggle. That doesn't mean that I'm going to turn on him. Bamba had a rough year and half the board started floating his name in trade proposals or speculating that he was Zach Lowe's anonymous bust.

[Knightro]

Fultz is the closest thing I have seen to prime time D.Rose in any draft class since.

Fultz was an AWESOME prospect, but I never really got Rose vibes out of him.

Rose is one of the most vertically explosive lead guards in the history of the NBA. Fultz is a very good athlete, but always came off to me as a little more of a herky jerky type than a straight up vertical monster.

What Fultz did have at Washington is some of the greatest ability to create separation and space with the ball in his hands that I've ever seen.

There have been plenty of spectacular ball handlers over the years - Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul come to mind - and I wouldn’t put Fultz on those guys level as a pure ball handler. That said... Fultz was incredibly unique at the college level in the respect that he had this great hang dribble combined with ridiculously long arms. His arms/wingspan was so much longer than most point guard prospects that it allowed him to eat up massive amounts of space with that move alone.

Then you combine that hang dribble/wingspan combo with his incredible college pull up threat and he could basically light defenders up anywhere on the court from the college 3PT line and in.

Basically Fultz at Washington pretty much did what Harden has been doing the last couple of years, only out to about 20 feet instead of 30 feet.

[Howard Mass]

One of the worst days for a Magic Fan ever.

[PrimeThyme]

Fultz always gave me Brandon Roy vibes. Funny enough both guys played at Washington. If you go back and watch some of Roys college highlights there are a lot of similarities.

[Howard Mass]

I'm very encouraged by this and am not surprised.

The two big questions going into camp (Okeke's status) and now Markelle Fultz's status have been answered.

For me, I believe we will see him play in the Preseason and then the Regular Season.

He will be monitored closely the whole season but everything the Magic have done this offseason tells me they have confidence everything will go well.

[yoyojw17]

Fultz always gave me Brandon Roy vibes. Funny enough both guys played at Washington. If you go back and watch some of Roys college highlights there are a lot of similarities.

Agreed. Hopefully the difference is the career ending injury. lol. B. Roy was gooooooood.

[ezzzp]

Read on Twitter

[ezzzp]

Orlando Sentinel

“The biggest thing that was key was the communication of what I’m feeling and letting the training staff do their job and just telling me what I need to do to release the pain or so we can work on it to get the pain to go away.”

It’s also important to remember that while Fultz has reached a point where his shoulder is healthy, maintaining that level will require constant work. For a player who’s spent nearly the past 10 months recovering from the injury, that kind of commitment won’t be a problem.

“There are still some days when I come in and I’m sore and I’ve got to do certain things. [It’s] just something that I’m always going to have to manage,” Fultz said.

Read on Twitter

[ezzzp]

Mackenzie Thirkill conversation with guard Markelle Fultz:

Watch on YouTube

[NEM]

This is the most excited I’ve been for a magic season since after our finals run. 10 years smh

Also, some of you have been to Costco today because when I went, they were completely sold out of Kleenex and lotion. No coincidence with all this Fultz news coming out today.

[Instincts]

If he excels this season it's because he'll be the only guard worth a damn that will drive to the hole consistently. That's the only way DJ will lose his spot, because he obviously has weaknesses in the passing game, assuming his shooting will stay as good as it has.

It will be interesting to see how they use him. Fultz mentioned in one of his interviews the fact that he can help this team win with his ability to play multiple positions as if this has been discussed with the coaching staff. It would be nice to see him get some burn with AG/Isaac in early stretches this year. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a lineup like DJ/Fultz/Isaac/AG/Vuc.

Not sure how much success he would have at the 2 (depending on how far along his shot is) but I'm definitely expecting Clifford to experiment a bit.

That's true. His effort at the defensive end in college was really sketchy, but it will be interesting to see how our defense fares with a switchable and capable defender at the guard position. We talk about how much value there is in having guys like Gordon and Isaac that are capable of switching onto and defending anyone, but that is heavily mitigated by the fact that a switch involving Fournier or Augustin is creating a significant mismatch.

I don't at all mean to sound pessimistic about Fultz. I'm very hopeful, but I'm also realistic about the learning curve that point guards face. You could certainly draw optimism from the seasons that Young, Sexton, and SGA had this season, but each one was a net negative on the season. This board collectively fell in love with Dennis Smith Jr., but we have seen how much he has struggled through two seasons. Getting on the floor is the first step. Success isn't a foregone conclusion. Fultz might very well significantly harm our chances of getting to the playoffs this season, but this is all about the long game for me.

I'm expecting him to struggle. That doesn't mean that I'm going to turn on him. Bamba had a rough year and half the board started floating his name in trade proposals or speculating that he was Zach Lowe's anonymous bust.

You lump a lot together there. You make comparisons to Dennis Smith and Bamba, low iq players, there is a common reason they struggled. I haven’t watched huge amount of game play on fultz, but I have not come away with a low iq impression.

I do agree this is a long game. I will not say this year is irrelevant, but it is close, a healthy progressing fultz, gordon, isaac outweigh the end result this year. It also helps that fultzs is stepping into a solid veteran roster built with him in mind.

Lastly and likely still most important is the shot. The new form looks quicker and modern, maybe a little low on the set point and not sure he is setting quite long enough. But overall it looks solid, especially considering the circumstances. I want to see more of it.