Fact is, we still really need Markelle Fultz to turn out to be Markelle Fultz. As Mike has repeatedly stated on the Ricky, there's a Markelle-sized hole in this team's lineup, which can only be filled by a ball-handling guard with both bounce and wiggle, who can dribble, pass, shoot, and defend at the point of attack. The guy we bet big on at draft night could do all of those things, the guy who started the season for us could only do one or two of them, and the guy who ended the season for us could do more of them, but still not the most important one.

There's reason to be optimistic. Fultz is (hopefully) finally healthy, and working with esteemed "skills coach" Drew Hanlen this offseason to get his shot back on track. And when he did return from his shoulder maybe-injury late in the regular season, he did seem like a more confident player in general, and one slightly more confident in his previously Dark Internet-worthy jumper -- albeit still a far cry from the three-level killer we saw at Washington -- before getting yanked for T.J. McConnell in the postseason. It's not the biggest emotional leap for a Sixers fan to assume that rather than experience the traditional injury-necessitated redshirt season of a Sixers prize rookie, Markelle instead opted to just tank his debut season by choosing to forget his most important pro-level skill -- but that just as Noel, Embiid and Simmons eventually proved worth their wait, so will Fultz for his Official-official rookie season next year.

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Unfortunately, the Sixers' coaching staff and front office -- assuming they're not just one and the same at this point -- will probably need more to go on with Fultz. They need to know if they can trust in him becoming who he should be, because if not, they need to get someone who can at least approximate that: a secondary playmaker and off-ball shooting threat who doesn't give it all back on the defensive end. Maybe it doesn't have to be in this draft, but those guys are hardly plentiful in free agency, and aren't often available for trade, either. If they have little faith in Fultz, they might be best off reaching for a Lonnie Walker or Collin Sexton or Trae Young -- none of whom can yet offer the complete Fultz package, but who can get maybe 2/3 of the way there, with hopes of the final third maybe coming in time. But if they think Markelle can still be that guy, those players become luxuries at best and redundancies at worst.

And so, as much research as the Sixers brass have to do about the dozens and dozens of prospects in this draft, the real scouting report they need is on their own second-year point guard. With Embiid and Simmons entrenched as the franchise's two current pillars, everything follows from Markelle at this point -- if he can join them at or near their level, the Sixers are basically set for their young core, and can look to draft for other specific holes in their lineup and fill in further with veterans from there, in trade and fee agency. If he can't, well, that might make Brett Brown & Co. more inclined to do what's necessary to move up for a player like Luka Doncic to get that third young core star, even if if means giving up legitimate assets to get there.

But therein lies the other Markelle-related rub: If the Sixers believe they whiffed on their deal for the top pick last year, do they have another big swing in them for 2018? Fultz busting would not only represent one of the most severe opportunity costs in recent NBA history, but one of the ultimate cautionary tales in moving aggressively and single-mindedly to acquire anyone on draft night -- even if standing pat ultimately represents the more dramatic mistake. Moving up might be the smartest move for the team, as might dealing the pick altogether, but it'd hardly be shocking if the scar tissue from their recent bad experience dealing with Danny Ainge on draft night last year has them feeling a little gunshy about pulling the trigger on any such subsequent deals.