Nets head coach reveals his unusual goal for Ben Simmons

Brooklyn’s head coach wants the notoriously sour-shooting Ben Simmons to [checks notes] shoot the ball more.

Nets coach Jordi Fernandez spoke with reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons and revealed his unusual goal for the ex-All-Star forward Simmons. Fernandez noted that Simmons only had four shot attempts Sunday and said that he wanted Simmons to more than double that.

“I want him to shoot more,” said Fernandez, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. “My goal for him is 10 [shots per game]. He’s gotta find a way to get there. He hasn’t gotten there, but I know he can … Those attempts need to go up… He’s more than capable.”

That may be a tall task for the former No. 1 overall pick Simmons, who is infamously passive on offense and has averaged a meager 5.3 shot attempts per game over his three seasons in Brooklyn. But Simmons was putting up double-digit attempts back when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, so it may not be an entirely impossible ask.

The Nets can only benefit from Simmons becoming more aggressive and seeking out efficient dribble-drive opportunities in the halfcourt and in transition. That said, Simmons is badly hampered by his glaring lack of a perimeter shot (only six total career three-pointers made and zero total three-point attempts since Feb. 2023), so asking anything more of him in that regard may only be begging for Simmons to get hit with more memes.