For the second summer in a row, the Knicks took a swing at Ben Simmons and came up short.
That alone says plenty about how New York is approaching the final spot on its roster. The Knicks have been willing to explore a wide range of options, even circling back to a former No. 1 overall pick whose career has long since become a study in equal parts talent, frustration and uncertainty.
Simmons, now 30, signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Scott Perry’s Sacramento Kings on Friday, according to KHTK’s Matt George. George also reported that New York was Sacramento’s main competition for Simmons. The Kings ended up landing him, while the Knicks once again watched him choose another destination.
The appeal is easy to understand. Simmons has been named to three NBA All-Star teams, made an All-NBA Third Team, earned two NBA All-Defensive First Team selections and won Rookie of the Year in 2017-18. He also remains best known in many circles for passing up an open layup against Trae Young’s Hawks in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Last offseason, the Knicks’ interest in Simmons reportedly went only so far. New York was willing to bring him to training camp on a partially guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, the same kind of arrangement that veterans such as Garrison Mathews, Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon ultimately accepted.
Simmons, though, wanted more security and was seeking at least the veteran’s minimum. No team was willing to meet that price at the time.
As George put it on social media: “The New York Knicks were the Sacramento Kings' primary competition for signing Ben Simmons. A "final two" of sorts.
Given Simmons' history, choosing Sac over New York is a wise choice.”
The terms of the offer New York made this summer are not known, but the Kings’ contract fit what Simmons had wanted a year ago. Sacramento also appears to offer a clearer path to minutes than the reigning champions, which matters for a player trying to reestablish himself.
The Knicks, meanwhile, do not look like a team in desperate need of filling camp with a pile of centers. Brogdon’s retirement and Mike Brown’s preference for Shamet made last year’s decisions fairly straightforward. This summer is different only in that New York’s championship run has altered the landscape, with Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti both leaving in free agency for Atlantic Division rivals.
There are still signs the Knicks are thinking beyond one narrow lane. SNY reported that at least some people in the front office have interest in John Konchar as a training camp option. Taken together with the repeated Simmons pursuit, that suggests New York is not committed to using every available camp slot on big men.
It also helps explain why Simmons wound up with Sacramento on a fully guaranteed deal. The Knicks, for the second straight offseason, may have been offering only another Exhibit 9 opportunity.
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