To say Markelle Fultz had a nightmare rookie season for the Philadelphia 76ers may be something of an understatement.

The point guard played just 14 games in the regular season and three games in the playoffs totalling 19 minutes.

He missed the majority of his first year after undergoing surgery to fix a niggling shoulder injury which was cited as the reason for the youngster struggling with his shot.

Disappearing act

After Fultz was selected with the number one overall pick last year, his prolonged absence throughout the campaign became a real mystery.

The intrigue around his shooting form became an unnecessary subplot for the 76ers and it seemed like they were keen to get him away from the media spotlight by shutting him down for much of the season.

Head coach Brett Brown has continuously stated how he's got faith in the 20-year-old and believes he'll ultimately become a real asset for the franchise.

But it now appears that belief may be wavering after a recent report.

According to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, the Sixers made Fultz available for a trade on draft night.

This backs up a report by The Athletic's Michael Scotto which claimed that Philadelphia held internal discussions about packaging the guard with both its number 10 and number 26 picks in order to secure a top-five pick.

Their inability to conclude a deal would suggest that there was little interest in the former Washington product from other teams.

Instead, they ended up using their two picks to take Villanova's Mikal Bridges and Wichita State's Landry Shamet.

However, they quickly traded Bridges to the Phoenix Suns that same night in exchange for number 16 selection Zhaire Smith.

But this story will put Fultz's long-term future in Philly in some doubt as the team may not have their full confidence in him.

He's working hard already this offseason to work on his game and according to his trainer, he's making real progress with his shooting.

There will be huge pressure on him to show an improvement and show why he was taken with the number one pick.

If Fultz doesn't live up to his billing, he could be in danger of being labelled a bust even though he's still extremely early in his young NBA career.

The talent is certainly there and he's in a perfect situation to develop as a player but it'll be interesting to see if he's capable of proving his doubters wrong.

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