Getty Philadelphia 76ers wing Kyle Korver drives to the basket during a 2006 game against the LA Clippers.
Ben Simmons may be banished to Brooklyn, but the former No. 1 overall pick is still getting under the craw of Sixers fans everywhere. Simmons was spotted working with Kyle Korver in a YouTube video from a recent Nets practice.
The two appear to be on friendly terms and Simmons actually looks like he’s open to instruction. Korver serves as a player development assistant coach for Brooklyn where he’s basically a part-time shooting consultant. The 40-year-old was one of the NBA’s elite three-point shooters during an accomplished 17-year career.
Why should anyone care? Well, Simmons refused to get in the gym and work on his jumper whenever the Sixers offered help. The ego-driven Aussie would only take instruction from his brother Liam, turning down several opportunities to learn from legendary coaches like John Townsend and Herb Magee.
It appears Simmons’ stance has changed as his career lies in limbo. And, honestly, Korver is the perfect guy to turn his shot around. He was a Sixers’ fan favorite and averaged 10.5 points per game while shooting 40.9% in five seasons. Korver led the entire NBA in three-point percentage on four occasions and qualified for one All-Star game. His 53.6% from deep is the single-season high mark set in 2009-10.
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Simmons ‘Doesn’t Want to Improve’
Herb Magee is an icon in Philadelphia, the famed “Shot Doctor” who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. You don’t turn down invitations to shoot with him. But that’s exactly what Simmons did when former Sixers coach Brett Brown asked him to reach out. Simmons flat-out ghosted Magee.
“He asked me to do it one day and I said, ‘I will, but you’ve got to ask Ben Simmons.’ And he never got back to me,” Magee said after his final game as head coach at Jefferson University. “So obviously Ben is the type of guy who doesn’t really want to improve. Could I help him? Of course.”
“OBVIOUSLY BEN IS THE TYPE OF GUY WHO DOESN’T REALLY WANT TO IMPROVE”
The Shot Doctor, 80-year-old Herb Magee, asked tonight about whether he’ll be driving up to Brooklyn to help “fix” Ben Simmons. You’ve GOT to listen to this! 🤣
The diss is extra funny because Magee relayed this story to me when I interviewed him about Simmons in 2021. He didn’t want me to publish anything negative because “I never spoke to the kid.” It was all through back channels. Still, the point remained that someone asked Simmons to work with Magee and he refused.
“First of all, shooting comes from — you have to have the right technique and the proper psyche,” Magee told Heavy in 2021. “It has to be in your psyche to improve as a shooter and it has not captured him [Simmons] yet. Because a guy who refuses to take any threes in a game when your coach tells you to, there’s got to be something wrong.”
Simmons Won’t Debut vs. Boston Celtics
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne recently reported that Simmons was “ramping up” for a return, but it won’t be tonight. The Nets take on the Boston Celtics on February 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Brooklyn and the disgruntled point guard won’t be in the starting five.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Goran Dragic and Joe Harris are all OUT for the Nets tomorrow against the Celtics.
Neither will Kevin Durant. Both players are officially listed “out” on the injury report after head coach Steve Nash said there was still “no clarity” on Durant’s return or a “definitive date” for Simmons’ debut. Stay tuned.