Ben Simmons says he worked on his shot while out for the year

His first season in the NBA obviously didn’t go as expected, but Ben Simmons can still takeaway some positives from his past year with the Sixers. He acclimated himself to the lifestyle of an NBA player and tried to refine his much-maligned jump shot. During the team’s exit interviews today, Simmons spoke with the media about his shot, saying, “The whole time I was out I was working on [my shot].”

While that’s certainly no guaranteed of improvement, it’s still a welcoming sign. This situation feels a little reminiscent of Joel Embiid’s two redshirt years with the Sixers. Embiid shot just five three-pointers during his lone year at Kansas, making only one while shooting 68.5 percent from the charity stripe. After two years of limited mobility, Embiid worked on his shot incessantly. When he finally reached an NBA court, he demonstrated that he can be an above-average shooter from three-point range.

Simmons might be a more extreme example, but he attempted only three three-pointers as a freshman at LSU while shooting 67 percent from the free throw line. His jumper was the biggest question mark surrounding his game during the pre-draft process last year. Several months where Simmons was able to work on his shot, and very little else given his foot injury, might end up being a blessing in disguise.

Here are some other notable remarks from Sixers players today:

More ambiguity!

“Interesting,” is certainly one way to put it.

Dario Saric needs a break, but I’m sure a guy who’s as fierce of a competitor for the Sixers isn’t willing to take it easy when it comes to his national team. Croatia will be playing in EuroBasket 2017 from August 31 through September 17 with games taking place in Israel, Finland, Romania and Turkey. Croatia finished ninth in the competition back in 2015.

Embiid and Saric’s teammates are hedging their bets with the Rookie of the Year race. That’s definitely the way to play it.

Jerryd Bayless is confirmed to be alive and not locked in Bryan Colangelo’s basement.

The basketball world is not ready for T.J. McConnell equipped with a three-point shot.

I like everything too, Dario.

I’m eagerly anticipating “The Nik Stauskas Game” in a four vs. five first-round game against the Raptors on the road next season.

As a wise man once said, “We’ll all know.”