Can Simmons and Saric play together? Sixers try it

GALLOWAY, N.J. - One of the biggest questions of the 76ers' preseason involves Ben Simmons and Dario Saric. People want to know if the two similar players can coexist on the court.

The Sixers believe they can and even dedicated time during training camp at Stockton University to work on it Wednesday.

Coach Brett Brown said Simmons played shooting guard while Saric was the small forward during a portion of practice that the media did not see. Then Simmons moved to small forward and Saric to power forward for the White team during a scrimmage that was open to the media.

"Now is the time to do that . . . [so] you have something quite special when they play together, because I'm going to play them together," Brown said.

He realizes that there are pluses and minuses in playing the two 6-foot-10 players together. Simmons is regarded as a point forward because he's a power forward who often brings the ball up in transition. Saric is a power forward who's also capable of handling the ball. The Croatian played point guard until he was 14 years old.

"I think the pluses are you have 6-10 do-alls that really can jump into a very versatile defensive world with perhaps a lot of switching," Brown said. "I think they are elite defensive rebounders that can rebound, lead a break, and take off."

The disadvantages come from playing two guys out of position who have not played together or in the NBA. That's why the Sixers are determined to use this preseason to build a comfort level between the two.

Simmons also played point guard at times in the scrimmage.

Jahlil Okafor experienced right knee soreness and did not participate in the scrimmage. He's listed as day-to-day.

The 6-foot-11, 257-pound center had season-ending surgery on March 22 to repair the meniscus in his right knee. The injury cost the NBA all-rookie selection the final 23 games of the season.

Okafor worked with head strength and conditioning coach Todd Wright after going through an individualized portion of practice.

He said the knee soreness was nowhere close to how it felt last season.

"They had me focus on low management," he said. "So they told me to relax once I did what they wanted me to do today. . . . But I felt fine. I will be good tomorrow."

Okafor said he was told to take it easy because it was the Sixers' third practice in two days. The Sixers had morning and evening practices Tuesday.

Navy Commander Mark McGinnis was scheduled to address the Sixers on Wednesday night. The former Navy SEAL is an expert in team building. He spoke to the team at training camp two seasons ago.