Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons: 'I'm a starting point guard'

Ben Simmons, who is still on track to make his NBA debut for the Philadelphia 76ers this upcoming season, says that while he's a versatile player and the NBA is turning into a positionless league, he plans to be the man running the offense.

"Once you start playing, (basketball is) one of those games where you just play. You feel it out." Simmons told reporters Sunday at the Las Vegas Summer League. "... For me, you can move me anywhere. But I'm a starting point guard."

In April, Sixers coach Brett Brown made it clear he planned to have Simmons, who played forward in high school and college, play point guard.

"When I say point guard, I mean point guard," Brown said on The Vertical Podcast. "You know, who takes the ball out of bounds, who receives the ball when the ball goes in the basket, who brings it up the floor after a free throw. I’m not talking about Draymond (Green), I’m not talking about LeBron (James), you know, I’m talking about a point guard. And so I intend on trying this."

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Simmons, the 2016 No. 1 overall pick who missed all of last season after having surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot, has been slowly working his way back. He's not playing for the Sixers at Summer League, but he's on track to be ready for training camp.

"I'm good. I've been getting up and down, five on five, things like that," Simmons said Sunday on ESPN's Summer League broadcast. "Just trying to get back to how I was playing, and I've been doing well."

When asked what he thought about the team drafting Markelle Fultz, who played point guard in college at Washington, as the No. 1 overall pick, Simmons said it was a "good decision."

And, as far as both players being point guards, well, Simmons said he thinks that will work just fine.

"I think coach wants to start me at the point, but I think, once we get into the flow of things, whoever gets the rebound gets it going," he said. "I think we're going to be a quick-paced team."

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