Ben Simmons missed the entire 2016-17 season due to injury, but his coach isn’t budging on the role he ultimately envisions the No. 1 overall pick playing.
In an appearance on The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown doubled down on his plans to play Simmons at point guard.
“When I say point guard, I mean point guard,” said Brown. “Who takes the ball out of bounds? Who receives the ball when the ball goes in the basket? Who brings it up the floor after a free throw? I’m not talking about Draymond [Green]. I’m not talking about LeBron [James]. I’m talking about a point guard, and so I intend on trying this.
“You always get into conversations, ‘Well that’s fine, who does he guard?'” he continued. “I don’t see him guarding the opposition’s point guard. It could end up he guards who guards him so you’re not cross-matched in transition defense. Having said that, I expect that other teams aren’t gonna go put Chris Paul on Ben Simmons or Isaiah Thomas on Ben Simmons.”
Brown first brought up the idea back in December, but a lot has changed since then. Subsequent months saw the emergence of T.J. McConnell as the team’s floor general, and now the Sixers have the fourth-best lottery odds for next June’s franchise point guard-heavy draft as well as the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers conveying their pick to Philly if it falls outside of the top three.
Still, Brown appears to be fully committed to his vision, so Simmons, who is making some positive progress in his recovery from a broken foot, should get every opportunity to be the Sixers’ own Giannis Antetokounmpo next season.
