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With Markelle Fultz, Sixers can actually become competitive now | Bob Cooney

After years of losing, coach Brett Brown has plenty of pieces to put a decent squad on the floor

THE TRADE RUMORS, after the 76ers had made their monster deal with the Boston Celtics at the beginning of the week, didn't come to fruition. Kristaps Porzingis won't be teaming with Joel Embiid in the frontcourt. The team's vision from May 16, when they found out they were slotted to pick at No. 3, was to do whatever it took to ensure they could get the player they saw as the best fit for their team. A player who could help them win in the future, but also right now.

Yes, that's where the organization is. No more drafting the best available, but getting someone who could flow seamlessly into the offense that will also feature Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. It just so happened that in moving to No. 1 to get Markelle Fultz, they got the best player and the player who fits best.

The Sixers surprised no one Thursday night when the Washington guard's name was called out Thursday night at the NBA draft in New York. The 6-4, 195-pounder instantly brings an offensive versatility that should enhance the talents of all, especially Embiid and Simmons.

Fultz will bring an ability to break down a defender like no one coach Brett Brown has had in his previous four seasons with the Sixers. With a game on the line or a shot needed at the end of a quarter, Fultz boasts a variety of offensive moves that can free him for a good look at the basket. And if defenses look to double him, he is a skilled enough passer to take advantage of that. And imagining him with Embiid running a high pick-and-roll, where Embiid can either pop and open the lane for a driving Fultz, or dive and and be the receiver of lobs, has fans overflowing with excitement.

At 7:40 p.m., commissioner Adam Silver announced the newest piece of The Process. Fultz joins a foundation that includes last year's No. 1 pick in Simmons and Embiid, taken No. 3 in 2014. The team now is closer to being routinely competitive, to having the ability to put five players on the floor who can defend, play with pace and space the floor - the three rules of the game Brown aches to be able to play.

Fultz, with work to be done at the defensive end, helps that goal tremendously.

"I'm versatile," he said in New York. "I mean, I don't think it's one thing that I can't do. I think I do everything at least decent."

[Markelle Fultz proved his mettle at famed DeMatha High School.]

Sixers president Bryan Colangelo sees it a little more glowingly than that, and is excited to see the pairing of Fultz and Simmons.

"He can play both guard spots," Colangelo said. "Really, it's going to come down to who's guarding who. I do believe, and I have a lot of faith in Ben that he's going to be able to guard multiple positions. Perhaps not every point guard in the league, but he'll be able to guard multiple positions. Markelle, with his size, he's going to be able to guard multiple positions. He may be at the 'one,' he may be at the 'two.' Again, he's a perfect combination guard who is going to fit in nicely with the rest of our people.

"Everybody is on the same page. Markelle is a likable young man, a very good basketball player. Everybody knows what that level of talent is going to mean to us becoming a more competitive team."

One of Brown's favorite phrases is "nut-cutting time." To a small degree, it is that time now for the organization. Gone are the days of players shuffling in and out of the locker room, being signed, starting games, then released before unpacking their bags. No more point guards by committee, where Brown had to put his trust in a player he handed 30 minutes to just moments after meeting him in midseason. Embiid, Simmons, Dario Saric and now Fultz give the coach the unfamiliar position of familiarity - knowing, if healthy, what lineup he can go to each and every night. When he had that opportunity last January, he was able to lead to the team to wins in 10 of 15 games.

[What they're saying about the Sixers picks after Fultz.]

Now that the foundational pieces are in place, it is time to learn how to start winning. Brown has been wonderful at producing great attitudes, overseeing player development. He hasn't had the players to win, and many on the roster have seen an awful lot of losing. The need to familiarize the team with winning close games is a top priority and more viable with where they are right now. They'll need to get used to winning close games, not waiting to see how they're going to lose them. It's a big part of the growth process now, even though the team he'll field is agonizingly young. But it's the first time

"I think he's a perfect complement to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons," Brown said. "This city has to feel fantastic. I know the organization does."

The coach has to, also. He can now legitimately compete on a night-in, night-out basis, for the first time since he got here.

cooneyb@phillynews.com

@BobCooney76

Blog: philly.com/Sixersblog