VDT wrote:OzThunder wrote:VDT wrote:
Fultz is not an elite athlete nor has he elite handles and he is definitely not a killer in transition. I have heard these things before and i have no idea how anyone that has seen him play would reach such conclusions. If Fultz were an elite athlete with excellent handles he would be able to play even without a 3point shoot. It is precisely because he is neither of these that he is unplayable in his current state.
Moreover dont compare Embiid with Fultz. Embiid had a real injury and was a much better prospect in college. I am not even sure Fultz has a real injury, he literally stopped playing after he got his option picked up and was moved to the bench. He spent the whole summer last year shooting 3s supposedly without any issues and as soon as he secured one more year of money and was moved to the bench he suddenly was injured again.
I hope he overcomes whatever issues he has but lets not kid ourselves that this is a typical injury. He will be paid for the full 4 years of his rookie contract and to this day he has played back up minutes in 33 games and even in those he hasnt shown much. He is literally being paid based on his perceived potential, because he hasnt shown anything on the NBA court yet.
I saw him play last year and I would say he's a pretty elite athlete and is certainly a killer in transition. Without his jumpshot and whilst doing all the weird free throw stuff, he actually was playing pretty well. Nobody actually cares to notice that or give it credit. 8.2ppg on 42% shooting 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Put someone like that on the Raptors or Knicks for a season and we'd be hearing about the next big thing, not about a kid who fooled his way into the league. And that's whilst in the midst of these huge problems. Hate him all you want but he has huge potential.
If he were an elite athlete he would still be playing for the Sixers. He still had a pull up mid range jumper and he had decent court vision. You dont lose your job to TJ or tail to bring any value in a trade if you are all of the above.
The truth is, as i said, that Fultz is not an explosive athlete, which is part of the reason he was often getting blocked at the rim, and cannot create separation from the defender by himself. His size is an advantage as a pg but his not particularly arhletic for his size or for a pg. If he were to have any success in the NBA it would be through skill and craftiness, not through athleticism. Which is the reason why his shooting issues are such a problem. It is almost impossible to be even a starting pg when you are neither very athletic nor a good shooter.
Yeah if we're talking specifically and only about vertical leap, he's not an "explosive athlete", but I said he was elite, considering size, speed, change of direction etc.
He didn't lose his spot to TJ McConnell. He got shelved because of the focus on the shooting issues. He was playing at an OK level. But it was a call to stop and fix the issue (looking forward into his career) instead of maintaining this "average/ (injured)" level. He could've played on without any semblance of a jumpshot and maintained his spot in the rotation (as he did).
Your forcing a narrative that isn't there. I doubt you watched him play.















