There are two different questions regarding Markelle Fultz. The first is whether he will ever become a playoff-caliber NBA starter. The second is whether he will ever become the brand of playoff-caliber starter that a team like the Sixers needs to complete its unique young nucleus. From a semantic point of view, that might seem a subtle distinction. But from the point of view of the Sixers' reality on the court, it is nothing less than defining.
On Tuesday, Brett Brown's first extended comments on the matter since June did little to dispel fears that Fultz's rookie tribulations were something other than a surmountable bump-in-the-road.