Sixers coach Brown: Simmons' jump shot 'not going to define him'

Ben Simmons has quickly become one of the most intriguing prospects in league history. As a 6-foot-10 point guard, his versatility is unmatched.

However, there is one key concern moving forward for the reigning Rookie of the Year. Despite being a borderline All-Star in his first campaign and pushing the Philadelphia 76ers to Round 2 of the postseason, Simmons failed to produce even the slightest bit of spacing for his teammates, finishing with zero triples on the year while taking 78.7 percent of his shots from within 10 feet of the basket.

Although the modern game has spread the majority of players further away from the hoop, 76ers head coach Brett Brown isn't too worried about Simmons' jumper.

"His jump shot's not going to define him," Brown said, according to The Associated Press' Dan Gelston. "At some point, it will sure help. But I have aspirations, ambitions for him where I want him to feature on an all-defensive team. I personally want to post him more. I look forward to using him as a screener and giving Markelle (Fultz) the ball and let him roll out of it, that Blake Griffin-sort of half-roll and go to dunk."

Simmons has found several other ways to be effective, but his issues at the free-throw line could also hinder his efficiency, shooting 56 percent on 4.2 attempts per game. This is something Brown hopes will be fixed sooner rather than later.

"Imagine if he can score one more point, it translates to like three to five more wins," Brown said. "When I look at how you’re going to do that, that's one way that interests me, let's just get him more free throws. Can you finish, can you be a better free-throw shooter than you were in the regular season? He has to be."

Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in 81 games.