'You're sitting': Philadelphia 76ers' ultimatum to Ben Simmons over shooting woes

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown threatened to bench Ben Simmons in front of his visiting parents if the Australian superstar continued to ignore calls for him to shoot the ball more.

Simmons, famously gun-shy from beyond the three-point line and even in the mid-range has made just two career triples - both in the 2019/20 season.

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His refusal to shoot has frequently been brought up as one of the reasons for the 76ers inconsistent play this season.

The team was expected to battle with Eastern Conference frontrunners Milwaukee for a spot in the NBA finals before the season started, but were languishing in sixth when the season was indefinitely suspended.

In a revealing piece penned by ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, the increasingly desperate attempts from Philadelphia management to get Simmons to shoot the ball, and potentially open up the offence, were laid bare.

“I told Ben, ‘If you aren’t willing to shoot, then do I just bench you? Because I can do that,’” Brown says in the piece.

“We could have gone that route or continue to coach him as it relates to spacing. We worked on the ability to use it as a choice to shoot the 3, catch and go, get in the paint, or find someone else.

"This was all discussed. I opted to take this path.

“I think only down the road will we be able to truly assess if it was the right one. In the meantime, he's a two-time All-Star, a kid that's gone from a college 4 to an NBA point guard. His story is a pretty darn good one.”

Ben Simmons’ high school coach urges more threes

While Brown is no doubt correct in his assessment of where Simmons stands right now, some of Simmons former coaches believe a firmer hand is required to help his game fully mature.

Kevin Boyle, Simmons’ high school coach at Montverde Academy, told MacMullan his former protegé’s refusal to hoist long shots was only making the scrutiny worse.

“I don't want to read people saying I can't shoot.' Well, right now they're saying you won't shoot -- and that's worse,” he said.

“If I were in charge of the Sixers, I'd tell him, 'If you don't take a pull-up jumper and a perimeter shot in each half - I don't care about your percentages - you're sitting.”

Brown, for his part, insists he’s had that same conversation with Simmons - but benching a two-time All Star who has been your best player over the course of the season is easier said than done.