Philadelphia 76ers superstar Ben Simmons is welcoming the challenge issued by his new coach Doc Rivers. The versatile guard is expected to return to his primary role as the team's facilitator in the upcoming NBA campaign.

The two-time All-Star set the tone for the team during Monday's practice. In an interview with Stats Perform News, he addressed going back to his natural role.

“Yeah, if you want to put me in that position. But yeah, facilitator. Just a playmaker.”

Simmons was easily the Sixers' best playmaker last year, dishing out 8.0 assists per game to go along with 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and league-leading 2.1 steals.

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Now, the 6-foot-10 former Rookie of the Year wants to find the balance between setting up the table for his teammates and also putting up more points on the board. But he knows his primary job is to orchestrate the Sixers.

“Coach wants me to make plays. There's numerous ways to do that. There's scoring, getting to the rim, drawing defenders, there's setting picks, and just creating options. So just me having the ball and being able to create different varieties of options is going to be tough for teams to guard, whether it's me kicking it ahead and setting a pick and setting a back screen for (Joel Embiid), it's going to be tough for guys to guard, especially when we have guys running around knocking down threes.”

A big factor in Ben Simmons' altered role last season was due to ousted coach Brett Brown's decision to play him as a power forward in some stretches, which did not cater to his unique skill set. That put a strain on the Sixers' already dreadful offensive sets, given Simmons' limited floor-spacing ability.

The Sixers have added more suitable personnel around Simmons and Embiid. The team got rid of Al Horford and Josh Richardson and added shooters like Seth Curry and Danny Green. The Sixers could be a crew on a come-up this NBA season, especially now that Simmons is back playing where he's supposed to be.