By John Wetzel, Sports Talk Philly staff
Ben Simmons was considered by some to be a risky pick in last years draft. The reasoning behind this take often centered around his poor shooting and supposedly poor work ethic. One year later, Simmons has not had a chance to prove them wrong, as the questions to his game remain unanswered.
Gerald Henderson, who was recently released by the Sixers to clear cap space, was on the Pace and Space podcast with Noah Coslov earlier today. After seeing Simmons first hand behind the scenes last season, Henderson was able to shed some light on what we should expect from him.
"He's got a chance to be a great player. He's ultra talented, he's got a special ability to handle the basketball, both dribbling and passing. [With] his size it's going to be difficult to find someone that really can stay in front of him. He's a good kid, a good listener, loves the game."
Henderson is a first class player. He was brought into the organization to play a leadership role and be sort of the "Dad" of the group. In other words, pointing them in the right direction and keeping them on the right track.
He didn't dodge Simmons "weaknesses" when speaking highly of the kid either, he addressed his shooting struggles and work ethic in the podcast. "His issue will be his shooting. I don't think that's a secret, he definitely needs to improve on that. He'll learn along the way, he's got basketball as a job now so he's doing it everyday, all day. So it'll improve overtime. But he's got the ability to be a superstar player and I don't expect anything less than that from him. He's just a special kid."
These comments are similar to what Richaun Holmes had to say about Ben Simmons last month. So hearing it from Henderson, who is no longer Simmons' teammate, is encouraging as well.
Simmons has also appeared to be putting in countless hours at the gym this offseason.
It's after midnight on a Saturday in June, and it looks like Ben Simmons is spending it working out at the practice facility 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/07plUoWlPN
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 25, 2017
The narrative that Simmons has a poor work ethic seems like it was blown out of proportion. By all accounts he's been nothing but hard working and willing to learn since joining the Sixers.
Personally, my questions about his game have been replaced by anticipation to see him in action. October can't get here soon enough.
