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Reports Indicate Washington PG Markelle Fultz Could Be The Sixers 'Answer'

Before stepping foot inside Alaska Airlines Arena for his first, and only, season at Washington, Markelle Fultz knew he would be the first pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

He sat court side to watch the Philadelphia Sixers defeat the Brooklyn Nets, 141-18, back on April 4, with the teams earning the No. 3 and No. 1 overall selections for the upcoming draft on June 22.

However, the Nets traded their first-round pick in 2018 as a part of the package that brought Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and others to Brooklyn back in 2013. But as it turns out, Fultz still was able to watch the team he will soon play for with a trade being finalized Monday between the Boston Celtics and the Sixers.

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© Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

First reported by David Aldridge of NBA.com, the two teams will swap first-round picks in 2017, along with the Celtics receiving either the Los Angeles Lakers first-round pick 2018, or the Sacramento Kings first-round pick in 2019.

Regardless, Fultz will be selected by the Sixers as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft on Thursday. Outside of last years selection of LSU power forward Ben Simmons first overall, the last time the organization at the No. 1 overall pick it produced Allen Iverson.

The former Georgetown point guard, at the time, provided 'The Answer' the organization needed from a basketball standpoint. More importantly, thought, Iverson had the 'it' factor off the court with an edge that fueled one of the top scorers in league history.

Iverson, at 6-foot and roughly 165-pounds coming out of college, wasn't built as physical as Fultz is at 6-foot-4 and 195-pounds. In his one season at UW, Fultz averaged 23.2 points per-game and nearly six assists in 25 games for the Huskies.

He will join a roster that includes Simmons, who missed the entire 2016-17 season after suffering a right foot injury last September, along with Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor (centers) and the potential to draft a young core to challenge the reigning NBA Champions.

The key, stating the obvious, is keeping everyone healthy for the Sixers to make their young nucleus work. Okafor struggled through nagging right knee soreness all of last season; Embiid missed the teams final 37 regular-season games after tearing the meniscus in his left knee, along with a decent injury history to boot; and Simmons still can be considered a rookie when he suits up with Fultz this fall.

If - spelled with a capital I and capital F in the Sixers case - the team can stay healthy, and possibly add a decent free-agent or two in the next couple years, the addition of Fultz could turn out to be "The Answer" part two.