Philadelphia 76ers: Why Markelle Fultz trade needs to happen soon

The Philadelphia 76ers may be moving on from Markelle Fultz. Here’s why it’s time for a change, and fast.

Once an “untouchable” member of the Philadelphia 76ers organization, a trade for Markelle Fultz is suddenly looking imminent.

The 76ers have recently been approached by the Cleveland Cavaliers regarding a possible trade for Fultz, according to a report from Amico Hoops.

Fultz’s struggles from last season have carried on into this year, and it’s evident that his well-known shoulder injury hasn’t gone away.

Regardless of whether he can recover from the shoulder or not, the Sixers must now consider every option for the other members of their 14-8 roster.

Though it’s fair to include Fultz’s age (20) as a reason for his problematic start to his NBA career, there just hasn’t been enough to justify any hope that it’s all going up from here.

The patience that the organization, and most notably Brett Brown, have displayed throughout the course of Fultz’s woes has been admirable. After all, patience has gotten the Sixers to the prominent position they currently occupy in the Eastern Conference. It’s hard to say that many other teams would’ve been willing to wait this long.

But the situation with the former No. 1 overall pick has undoubtedly reached its breaking point, and in order to keep Philly rolling this season, they can’t afford to cling to these continuous distractions.

Fultz surely isn’t going to bring in another future first round pick for the Sixers in any trade, but he could interest teams who are desperate to find young talent.

With his staggering value, he is a player who could still find a starting role in another city — Cleveland for one. The Sixers would also love to get Kyle Korver back in Philadelphia, where his 16-year career began.

A trade between the two could include a straight-up deal of Fultz for Korver, and maybe one of the Cavs’ draft picks for the 2019 NBA Draft (protected first round, via the Atlanta Hawks). If that’s too much, perhaps one of their possible five second round picks would suffice.

It wouldn’t be surprising to anyone if the Sixers were forced to hold off on completing a deal until the Feb. 7 trade deadline, giving Fultz time to prove he can come back and stay healthy, but the likelihood of him being in Philly beyond that is increasingly looking slim.

The Jimmy Butler trade a few weeks ago really set a lot of things in motion for the franchise. Not all good, but also not all bad.

Since the debut of Butler, who has already sunk two game-winning buckets, the team is 5-2 and much more capable of winning games than they previously were with Robert Covington and Dario Saric.

They no longer have time to waste. If the organization says the roster has enough talent to win a title now, it needs to prove it.

Zhaire Smith should be their only exception at this point, seeing how he has yet to play a game for the team and is still only 19, so no rush there.

But at this point of the season, if there is any opportunity to enhance the roster to make rival teams like the Boston Celtics or Toronto Raptors sweat a little bit, then that’s just what the Sixers have to do.

The time has run out with Markelle Fultz, and there are no foreseeable signs that it will get any better. Philly needs to pull the plug, take a lesson from the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, and dive headfirst into the 2018-19 season for a title.