The Sacramento Kings have made it official: Ben Simmons is on the roster.
On Tuesday, the Kings listed the three-time All-Star as a 6’10” guard after he drew interest from the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves. That designation points to Simmons landing in a backup point guard role behind prize lottery pick Darius Acuff Jr.
That’s the same lane Golden State would have explored if Simmons had signed a training camp deal and then beaten out Brandon Williams for a spot. And that’s where the fit gets tricky.
Simmons has spent most of his NBA career operating as a point guard, but his former agent Rich Paul recently made the case that the best version of Simmons now might come as more of a center. On the Game Over podcast, Paul said: "I remember having a conversation, me and Ben talking," Paul said on the Game Over podcast.
"I said, ‘Ben, you got so much left in the tank, bro. If you just become a pick and roll five at the end of games, because your playmaking ability makes you a different rolling big.'"
That vision doesn’t line up neatly with Sacramento’s current setup. The Kings already have Domantas Sabonis, a 6’10” center who does his best work in pick-and-roll actions, and they also have an impressive young big man in Maxime Raynaud.
Golden State may have faced the same issue. The Warriors don’t lean heavily on traditional pick-and-roll offense, which makes it hard to picture Simmons being deployed exactly the way Paul described. He could have been a passer in split-cut sets, but his lack of scoring punch might have made that look less effective than it sounds on paper.
In the end, if Simmons had landed with the Warriors, the most realistic path still would have been at backup point guard. Williams is the only fully non-guaranteed player on Golden State’s 15-man roster, so Simmons would have had to win that job in training camp and preseason.
There were other possible uses, too. He could have served as a backup power forward behind Draymond Green or filled in as a small-ball five when Kristaps Porzingis and/or Al Horford were out or resting. That versatility is exactly what made him such an intriguing option for Golden State in the first place, especially with older and injury-prone players in the mix.
Now the question is whether the Kings are about to find out what the Warriors narrowly avoided: a talented piece whose best role may not match the role he’s being asked to play.
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