Ben Simmons' Refreshed Mentality is Winning Over Teammates

Ever since he's been preparing to enter the 2015 NBA Draft, Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons has received criticism surrounding his lack of a jump shot. In college, Simmons attempted just three shots from beyond the arc while at LSU.

Therefore, the idea of having Simmons come in and play point guard for the 76ers confused a lot of fans. In today's NBA, how could a player possibly avoid utilizing a jump shot? Well, Simmons wasn't perfect -- but he managed.

At this point, though, Brett Brown is willing to make a critical change. While Simmons still got the job done at point guard, the spacing issues on the floor for the 76ers can be resolved with a point guard who is willing to shoot. So the Sixers are going to trot Shake Milton out as the starting point guard, switching Simmons to the four.

However, just because Simmons is out of the point guard spot, doesn't mean he gets a pass never to utilize his jump shot. Over the COVID-19 break, Simmons vowed to step out of his comfort zone and begin shooting the ball more when basketball returns. Once again, the videos of Simmons shooting in a practice gym began swirling around social media, adding fuel to the hype.

Teasing the idea of taking more shots is nothing new for Simmons. After all, he's done it the last two offseasons. This time around, though, the situation seems a bit different. Sixers head coach Brett Brown has talked about Simmons' shooting an awful lot lately. And while Brown still believes the topic of Simmons' shot is "overrated," there is an apparent change in Simmons' shooting confidence -- and the team is loving it.

"That has been an attitudinal change, an internal decision," Brown stated on Thursday before practice. "I've seen a player that's cocky and playing, and when the game says shoot because nobody's on you, he doesn't blink and his teammates love it. I'm proud of how he personally has handled what I think is going to be a paradigm shift, and we're going to see him ultimately transform as we start playing basketball games."

Ben Simmons and the 76ers are going to begin their Orlando journey with a scrimmage game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday with a 3:30 pm EST tip-off time. Friday afternoon's game should be the first preview of the team's new starting lineup, which features Milton at point guard and Simmons at power forward.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_