Ben Simmons is back on an NBA contract, and the Sacramento Kings beat out a handful of interested teams to get him.
The three-time All-Star signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Sacramento at the beginning of September, landing back in the league after spending much of last season away from basketball while focusing on himself and his mental health. Simmons used that time to regroup and prepare for another run.
“Three-time All-Star Ben Simmons has agreed on a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agents Max Wiepking, Sean Tribe and Ryan Arney tell me and Marc J Spears. The one-time All-NBA star is back in the NBA for a 10th season after sitting out 2025-26,” ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote.
His fit in Sacramento started to take shape after a workout with general manager Scott Perry.
“In late August, Simmons also worked out for general manager Scott Perry and met with Perry for an hour. By all accounts within the Kings as well as Team Australia officials where Simmons participated in a players-only minicamp last month, the 30-year-old has looked and felt strong health-wise,” Charania posted.
The Kings weren’t alone in showing interest. The Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks also checked in, but none of them put a contract on the table.
“The New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors were also interested in Simmons, according to sources, but none offered a contract. However, once the Miami workout for Perry had been scheduled, Simmons was so confident the Kings would sign him that he began researching homes in Sacramento,” NBA insider Marc Spears wrote.
That likely meant the other suitors were talking more about a training camp invite than a guaranteed deal. Sacramento gave Simmons something sturdier: a contract and a real shot to win minutes.
For New York, that may have been the difference. The Knicks might have only been able to use Simmons in limited spots when other players were out. Instead, the Kings gave him a cleaner route back into the NBA.
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