Markelle Fultz is excited to move on from the Sixers, get a fresh start

Sixers former first-overall pick Markelle Fultz is finally off to his new start with the Orlando Magic.

It’s official – the Philadelphia 76ers are finished with the Markelle Fultz experiment. The trade was made less than an hour before the NBA’s trade deadline, but it took a week for the Orlando Magic to introduce their newest acquisition. And on Thursday, the Magic finally issued Fultz his jersey during his introductory press conference in Orlando.

Sixers nation is divided with the team’s latest move at this point. A good portion of Philly believes that the Sixers made the right decision by trading Fultz and issuing him a fresh start for his career. The other party, well, they are upset and won’t seem to let go of the thought of what Fultz could’ve been.

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Fultz hasn’t even been in the NBA for more than two years, and the Sixers have seen enough. While the unknown will always creep into the heads of not only Sixers fans, but Sixers staff too, the team visibly made the right move. Behind the scenes, the Sixers seemed exhausted.

Elton Brand and the rest of the front office figured that a fresh start was needed for both parties, so the Sixers and the Magic came to an agreement. Now, Fultz will resume his career in Orlando when he is finally cleared to play once again.

Fultz shows off his new threads

Markelle Fultz getting ready to talk to the media for the first time since being traded to the @OrlandoMagic. pic.twitter.com/LPbJsVQnoj

— Mackenzie Thirkill (@KenzieThirkill) February 14, 2019

So how did Fultz react to the trade when he first found out? Well, it turns out that the 20-year-old guard was excited. “I was excited when I first found out. First thing was to thank God. Getting a fresh start is perfect for me and my family.” Fultz told the Orlando media, according to PFO’s Harrison Grimm.

While Fultz did not seem to have an issue with the Sixers staff, it was rumored that Fultz’s camp/family were not too fond of Philly after Fultz was immediately benched for TJ McConnell during his final game with the Sixers. Apparently, Fultz’s camp believed that he was more valuable than McConnell, so they pushed for a trade early on.

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While all of the rumors are just speculation at this point, Fultz’s move to Orlando was not sudden. For months the Sixers have pondered about trading Fultz, but there wasn’t much of a market for the former first pick.

After the Magic made a semi-decent offer of two draft picks, along with Jonathon Simmons, the Sixers wasted no time making the trade official. Now, Fultz can get a fresh start on a new team that will build around the former Washington star.