How Does Markelle Fultz’s Diagnosis Effect The Sixers?
On Tuesday the official press release came out with the news that Markelle Fultz has been diagnosed with Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and he will begin physical therapy immediately. TOS is a medical issue that is unfamiliar for NBA Players but has been a diagnosis of numerous pitchers in MLB over the last 18 years; among the pitchers who have been diagnosed with TOS includes 2005 NL Cy Young Award Winner Chris Carpenter and 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett. From a medical perspective, the diagnosis of neurological injuries is much more complicated than the more familiar orthopedic type injuries due to how more frequently athletes have, for example, ACL injuries so there is a much deep history and medical expertise for those complications than TOS.
ESPN.com NBA Insider Kevin Pelton joined The Sports Bash on Tuesday discussing the impact of Markelle Fultz diagnosis on the Sixers moving forward:
"(Fultz's Diagnosis) pushes the pause button on any thoughts of trading him because you wanna see how he does react because they drafted him Number One (Overall) for a reason and although that fit might not be quite as good as it was when he was drafted because of the addition of Jimmy Butler and the way (Ben) Simmons has taken over as a pure Point Guard than maybe we even realized at the time Fultz was drafted....Nonetheless, he’s an incredibly talented player, somebody who brings a pick and roll dimension that they don’t get from Simmons and Butler provides some of but not maybe at the level that a fully realized Markelle Fultz could be. So I think you want to give him every opportunity to make this work and (the Sixers will) see what he looks like when he’s able to return and hopefully that’s well in advanced of the trade deadline. So they do have some time to evaluate him before having to make a decision about him this season."
Hear what Pelton had to say about Fultz's future in the NBA, how his salary impacts the Sixers' evaluations on trading him or not, along with perspective on validity of Fultz's diagnosis