Brett Brown believes Ben Simmons benefited from sitting out his rookie season due to foot surgery as Joel Embiid did after missing what would have been his first two NBA seasons.
“I think the fact that they sat out and got older and bigger and stronger and I think smarter, how could that had not helped them?” said Brown of both Simmons and Embiid “Could they had jumped into the league and done what they are doing? I think they are better off for it.”
Simmons spent a lot of time studying video of point guards with Brown.
“I think it definitely helped,” he said. “But you cannot compare it to actually playing. I think I’ve learned more actually being on the court and playing and seeing different teams and sets and watching.
“But it did pay off being able to watch and learn the game.”