Magic HC: 'Very Difficult' for Injured Markelle Fultz to Return This Season

Orlando Magic fans likely won't get to see Markelle Fultz in action this year, as he continues to recover from the thoracic outlet syndrome that has impacted his shooting shoulder. 

"He's still rehabbing his shoulder, and he's not even able to really do much on the floor yet," Magic head coach Steve Clifford told SiriusXM Radio (h/t ESPN.com). "It's a pretty significant shoulder injury. I would say he's starting to do a little bit, but it would be very difficult for him to get back this year."

Fultz, 20, has played in just 33 games over his first two seasons, as shoulder issues and shooting woes have largely kept him off the court. He's averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from three and 53.4 percent from the charity stripe.

He was the No. 1 overall pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017, as the team traded up to draft him. Fultz's excellent jumper, ability to dominate in the pick-and-roll and impressive athleticism made him, on paper, an excellent third option behind Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Instead, Fultz entered training camp his rookie season with a reworked, and ugly, jumper. He sat for most of the campaign, though he came back late in the year and even recorded a triple-double. He was nonexistent in the postseason, however.

The Sixers experimented with him in the starting lineup to start this season, though that ended when they acquired Jimmy Butler in a Nov. 12 trade. That move accelerated Philadelphia's timeline, and when Fultz again hit the sidelines, it became clear his future wasn't in Philadelphia.

The Sixers traded him to Orlando for Jonathon Simmons, Oklahoma City's top-20 protected pick in 2020 and Orlando's second-round pick this season. Before the Sixers beat the Magic on Tuesday night, Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown spoke about Fultz:

"First and foremost, elite person, really just a good human being. Two, a point guard. Thinks like a point guard, speaks like a point guard and he's a point guard by nature. And he has an instinct from a playing perspective to share and he reads the game well.

"Those two things first come to my mind—good people and a point guard. We're always thinking about Markelle and we truly wish him well. I hope he can resurface—and I believe he will—and reclaim some of the expectations that he has on himself and the marketplace has for him."

There's little doubt Fultz has a high ceiling. It just remains a major question mark if he'll ever get anywhere close to it.