Sixers guard Markelle Fultz may have been pushed into working with infamous trainer Drew Hanlen.

Monday, November 12th, 2018. The eve of the arrival of Jimmy Butler to the Sixers. As the organization gleamingly looks ahead to what could be the best Sixers team assembled since the championship winning 1983 team, the last time the O’Brien trophy was carried down Broad Street, a shorthanded roster took on the Heat in Miami.

Markelle Fultz steps to the line with 6:09 left in the first half, his team down 2. Fultz, with his droopy angst-filed eyes, looks at the rim, takes a pause, starts his motion, but doesn’t release the ball until he pulls the ball back towards his chest and released it again.

The internet went nuts. Not because Joel Embiid went for 35 points and 18 rebounds, or that Ben Simmons took over the game in the last few minutes. It was the growingly intense microscope on Fultz’s mysterious shot form, and how it seemingly regressed in Monday night’s 124-114 Sixers win.

The immediate follow ups to the shot were striking, specifically a report by HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy.

Markelle Fultz and Drew Hanlen are no longer working together or on speaking terms, according to league sources. No word on why the two parted ways, but their relationship deteriorated about three weeks ago. Prior to this falling out, Fultz spent the summer training with Hanlen.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 13, 2018

It seems as though the once promising relationship between Fultz and trainer Drew Hanlen, who trained Embiid before his debut, is no longer present.

This comes after a campaign in which both Fultz and Hanlen made it known that no footage of jump shots would be released. With Hanlen teasing major improvements in the shot form, ending in an edited video finally released just before the start of preseason. The video showed Fultz taking deep mid-range and three-point shots with a more fluid motion.

This, combined with Fultz hitting a deep preseason shot that brought upon Washington nostalgia, made many believe that the former top pick made very quick progress.

Sources close to the situation have claimed that Hanlen ran this very public campaign for self-promotion, and that the relationship between the two parties was “forced.”

Whether the issue was forced by the Sixers, or others in Fultz’s camp is unclear. If indeed the Sixers pushed Fultz into Hanlen, hoping for replication in the results Embiid has seen, than their plan has fallen completely on its face. Especially with how public this training would end up being.

There were concerns about the frequent gesturing from Hanlen that the shot was close to being ready.

But those close to the situation saw that the form was still not close to Fultz’s collegiate form that sprung him to the top of almost every NBA general managers’ draft board. This much was known, yet Hanlen continued to make unfulfilled promises.

Drew Hanlen declined to comment on the situation with Fultz when reached out to, but did state the following:

“Anytime I take on a client, I do everything in my power to help them improve their game and would never take on a client for self-promotion reasons.”

Outside pressure, whether from the organization or those close to Fultz, is what pushed him into the now-famous hands of Hanlen. This, combined with Liberty Ballers’ report that someone from Fultz’s party confronted the personal trainer about the results, are glaring potential causes of the fall through in the relationship.

Markelle Fultz has yet to put it all together, but has shown evident signs that he can be an effective NBA player. He still has his innate ability to sliver his way to the rim, and has been highly active on the defensive end.

He has shot the ball well at times, pulling over taller defenders for mid-rangers, and finding net with wide open threes. One three-pointer, however, caught the viral eyes of twitter. As he bricked a three against Brooklyn, Kyle Kuzma’s personal trainer Clint Parks took to twitter to call out Pure Sweat Basketball’s Hanlen.

Hanlen, in a tweet that’s now deleted, stated Fultz was not yet healthy. Fultz rebutted the tweet in a post-game interview, stating he is healthy besides the common bumps and bruises of the NBA life. Those around Fultz will even go as far as saying that he never was injured in the first place.

The mystery of what happened post-draft will never be 100% clear. There is consistency in claims, however, that there was never an attempt to change Fultz’s form, nor was there an injury. The prominent belief to those have closely followed the situation is that the issue is in fact psychological to a personal level.

The supporting evidence of this is quite point-blank, but has been under the noses of media for some time. Which is that this is a highly intense situation for a 20-year old who is still growing and maturing. The unprecedented situation may not solely be just pressure, but no 20-year old top prospect has endured such a situation that has also caused immediate scrutiny.

A scrutiny that will surely intensify with the arrival of Jimmy Butler, who is believed to have made the Sixers instant championship contenders. The minutes Fultz has been seeing may start to decrease because of this move, as he already has failed to see clutch time minutes.

Brett Brown’s cautiousness may be viewed as a lack of trust, but I’m told Markelle Fultz has been a “good soldier” and has no issue with Brown’s coaching decisions.

The Sixers continue to support Fultz, with Elton Brand stating that Philadelphia is still the best place for Fultz to develop.

“I still think this is the best place for Markelle to develop because we love him” – Brand on Markelle Fultz

— J Blevins (@JBlevins46) November 13, 2018

Will this sentiment continue to last as the Sixers look to supplement their big three with immediately impactful talent? Time will tell if Brown continues to commit to playing Fultz in major first half minutes, or if his role starts to diminish.

The Sixers have been continuing to toe a line that diametrically focuses on Markelle Fultz’s development and competing for the best of the East. The belief is that the team can balance both for now, but which side of the seesaw will it restrict the most.

The next step for Fultz may be to step back, reflect, and start to take control of the people around him. He stands with promise and talent, and his work ethic should lead to hope of improvement. For now, Fultz will continue to be under the microscope, but his next baby step is being effective in other ways to be on the court in crunch time.

The Sixers were contacted for this story but have yet to comment on whether they forced the pairing of shooting coach Drew Hanlen and Markelle Fultz.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images