From the moment Markelle Fultz double-clutched the second of two free throws midway through the second quarter of Monday night’s game against the Miami Heat, his shooting form once again became a blazing-hot topic of conversation.cheap nike nfl jerseys from china
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown, however, had no time for such discussions. Instead, his focus is on something else: balancing his personal and emotional investment in trying to get Fultz back on track with his job to lead this season’s Sixers to a credible challenge for the Eastern Conference title.
And now that the Sixers have acquired Jimmy Butler, who will join the team for Wednesday’s road game against the Orlando Magic, Brown’s already difficult task has suddenly become nearly impossible.
“It is [difficult],” Brown told ESPN.com after Monday’s game, a 124-114 Philadelphia victory. “Because you’ve got a human side, and a responsibility to the individual, but mostly you’ve got a responsibility to the team, and somewhere in that pyramid of layers I’ve got to figure it out.
“There’s no book that tells you how to do that. I use my gut feel and best judgement and just keep it very candid. When I feel something, or see something, and you can convey it to you, or the team, or whatever, that’s when I feel comfortable.
The Butler trade — which saw Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a future second-round pick go to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Butler and Justin Patton — marked the end of “The Process,” the much-discussed rebuilding plan the Sixers embarked on several seasons ago.nfl nike jerseys cheap china
Fultz was supposed to be that final cornerstone piece, joining with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to form a young triumvirate of stars who would lead Philadelphia into championship contention. But while Embiid and Simmons have more than lived up to their end of the bargain, Fultz’s odyssey over the past 17 months has been one of an endless series of twists and turns — and, along the way, him losing the ability to consistently shoot a basketball.
It is a trip that could be encapsulated by that second free throw he took with 6 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and with Philadelphia trailing 46-44. Despite Fultz having just made the one before it, he practically pump-faked on the second attempt before letting it go. It clanged off the side of the rim and bounced away.
