By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly contributor
The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be out on acquiring Markelle Fultz from the Philadelphia 76ers following their deal with the Jazz that sent Kyle Korver to Utah. Now, according to a source in the Philly media, a new team has emerged as a front-runner for acquiring the disgruntled former No. 1 overall draft pick.
According to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phoenix Suns are reportedly interest in making a deal for Fultz, although the return is not yet known. The one stipulation for Fultz to be moved is that he needs to be truthful about whether he is injured or if it's a mental block problem, which has been rumored now for quite some time.
Markelle Fultz's trade value has dwindled, but there is a market for him — under a certain condition. He and his representatives need to be truthful, a league source says.
In other words, potential 76ers trade partners don't want Fultz saying that his right shoulder and wrist are bothering him if he actually has a mental block that's hindering his shooting, the source said.
In order for a deal to get done between the Sixers and any team that wants to acquire the point guard, Fultz's honesty is the biggest part of it.
Fultz has not played since November 19 against Phoenix at the Wells Fargo Center. An update regarding Fultz and his recent trip to a shoulder specialist is expected to be rolled out to the public on Friday. Despite not playing in over a week and not participating in practice, according to Pompey, Fultz did indeed attend the Sixers' practice on Thursday, a day before receiving news about his shoulder.
#Sixers guard @MarkelleF attended practice today. He did not participate.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) November 29, 2018
We'll see what happens with Fultz and what the Sixers decide to do about moving the first overall draft selection in 2017, but Fultz seems to still have the utmost support of his teammates, as Jimmy Butler stated this week in an interview with the media.