By Oscar Montoya
Sixers coach Brett Brown has a surprise up his sleeve about point guard:
Ben Simmons, the Sixers No. 1 overall draft pick in June, is currently rehabbing from surgery to repair an acute Jones fracture in his right foot, but Brown says he envisions eventually utilizing the Australian as a point guard when he returns from injury.
“My intention is to give him the ball,” Brown told ESPN. “I think that ultimately he’s going to be groomed to be a point guard.”
Simmons’ on-court vision and ability to create for his teammates has been praised since his one-and-done season with Louisiana Tech. The 6-10 forward equally impressed the NBA fraternity at Summer League in July with some of his passes and his ability to run the floor. Brown spoke of Simmons’ athleticism being a key to his success as a professional NBA player.
“It [athleticism] is certainly not the be all end all, but it certainly helps,” he said. “That type of breakaway speed at 6-10, 245 pounds. He is an elite athlete. Apart from the skill package that he most definitely has, I feel like that’s one of the foundations of a lot of the great players.”
