Ben Simmons was drafted the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft due to his great rebounding rate, high basketball IQ, and ability to make dazzling passes and make plays in the clutch. Some even compared him to LeBron James coming out of high school — but the vision that the Philadelphia 76ers organization had for him as a point-forward, might not come to its full fruition next season.
“I do concede the thing that we missed with him not playing after the All-Star Break is, I have this vision that I want to pursue with him as a point guard,” head coach Brett Brown told Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly. “Nobody can promise that I’m right. I don’t know either. But I think from what I have studied from truly his childhood, and high school and LSU, I feel confident that we should try this and look at it.
“We would know a lot more in that regard had he had played and we could know a lot more in a summer league. But we don’t.”
If Simmons were to play as an off-the-ball small forward, a lot of his playmaking talent would go to waste. While the Sixers have a capable passer at the point guard position in T.J. McConnell, there's nothing like a 6-foot-10 freight train that can also make plays and use his vision to create for others.
Only game action and constant playing time will determine where Simmons' future lies within a young Sixers roster, but that will all start with his recovery from a Jones Fracture.
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