Philadelphia 76ers: Complete 2017 offseason grades

Trading up to draft Markelle Fultz

The Philadelphia 76ers made a big move when they drafted shooting guard Markelle Fultz. They traded their third overall pick, along with a future first round pick either in 2018 or 2019, to the Celtics for the first overall pick.

Since being taken as the first overall pick by the Sixers, Fultz has agreed to his rookie contract.

Fultz showed flashes of his superstar potential in NBA Summer League before he went out with an ankle sprain. He was sat down for precautionary reasons, however, and should still be ready for training camp.

Fultz answers a ton of needs for the Sixers. He’s a sure-fire shooter and a ball-handler who also distributes the ball quite well. In his lone season at the University of Washington, he averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. He’s a born leader who leads by example.

Fultz scored 17 points in his Summer League debut. In his second game, he put up 23 points, six rebounds and five assists on 56 percent shooting from the floor. He’s the pick-and-roll point guard the Philadelphia 76ers have always wanted.

He shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from 3-point range as a freshman last season. With more development along with Simmons and Embiid, the hope is for Fultz is to grow into the next big thing.

So far, without them, Fultz has shown what he can do this summer. The regular season will tell the real story, though. Simmons is expected to handle the ball some as well so we’ll see how the chemistry works there.

Grade: A