Sixers head coach Brett Brown has a difficult decision on his hands as the Markelle Fultz experiment has clearly backfired through the early part of the season. The former No. 1 overall pick has started every game thus far, but only scored in double figures in six of the first 15 games of the season, raising major questions about his readiness to start after missing the vast majority of his rookie season with a shoulder injury.

Fultz reconstructed his jump shot after his shoulder injury kept him from his usual release. There were no previous questions about his jumper coming into the 2017 NBA Draft, making the issue all the more unprecedented.

The Washington product was sixth in the nation in scoring with 23.2 points per game and shot a strong 47.6 percent from the floor and a blistering 41.3 percent from deep during his lone year in college, but his unforeseen injury has dialed back his development in a major way. Brown looked to fix it by inserting him into a starting role to give him ample opportunities, relegating veteran marksman J.J. Redick to a bench role.

With two of their starters now traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brown started Redick for the second time this season, only to see the stark contrast between the veteran and the pseudo-rookie Fultz.

Brown is now caught between a promise made to develop Markelle Fultz and doing what it takes to bring the Sixers to the Eastern Conference throne.

“It is [difficult],” Brown said after Monday's game, a 124-114 victory over the Miami Heat, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “Because you've got a human side, and a responsibility to the individual, but mostly you've got a responsibility to the team, and somewhere in that pyramid of layers I've got to figure it out.

“There's no book that tells you how to do that. I use my gut feel and best judgement and just keep it very candid. When I feel something, or see something, and you can convey it to you, or the team, or whatever, that's when I feel comfortable.

“And so Jimmy is going to come in, we're going to make a decision on what that looks like, and we'll roll.”

Adding a star like Jimmy Butler adds yet another layer of complication, as the All-Star two-way player arrives with the desire to win games and will not hesitate to point out what's keeping the team from its ultimate goal. Markelle Fultz may be getting in the way of that right now.