For a second straight offseason, the Knicks have come up empty in their push for Ben Simmons. New York reportedly had interest in signing him in 2025 and again this year, but the former All-Star is headed to the Sacramento Kings on a standard minimum contract.
That agreement, though, comes with plenty of protection for Sacramento. The deal is non-guaranteed, and the latest reporting says Simmons will have to make the opening night roster to collect $1 million. Even then, he won’t get the full amount unless he remains on the roster through Jan. 10, 2027, per Spotrac.
Update: Ben Simmons has signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal worth up to $3.5 million with the Sacramento Kings, per sources. If he makes the opening night roster, he’ll earn $1 million.
The 30-year-old, 3-time All-Star is making an NBA comeback. ESPN was first on an agreement.
That structure keeps the situation fluid. Sacramento can move on from Simmons during the preseason without being tied to the contract, which means the door is not necessarily shut on a possible Knicks pursuit if he becomes available again. Given how recently New York was in the mix, Leon Rose could circle back if the opportunity presents itself.
At the same time, the Knicks’ repeated interest without a deal actually tells the story pretty clearly. They tried last offseason, explored it again this summer, and still haven’t landed him. That doesn’t exactly point to a clean fit.
Still, New York’s continued curiosity says plenty about what Simmons might offer. The Knicks have a real need in the frontcourt, and the remaining veteran free-agent pool doesn’t offer much upside.
Some of the younger names available bring intrigue, but they also come with bigger questions about how they’ll hold up at the NBA level. Simmons gives them a different kind of option: a player with proven ability who could still be worth the gamble.
That’s why he can’t just be dismissed if Sacramento cuts him before opening night or later in the season. Leon Rose is trying to maximize the back end of the roster for another title push, and that makes the third-string center spot a real area of focus. Aging veterans like Kelly Olynyk or Bismack Biyombo would mostly fill space, while someone like Simmons could matter more if the circumstances line up.
Of course, New York could still solve the problem another way before the season starts. A center trade could finally come together, even though that’s been tough to find this offseason.
A big on a two-way deal could pop in camp. Or the Knicks could look elsewhere, maybe at Micah Potter or another cut candidate.
But this summer has made one thing obvious: quality backup center help is hard to find. Teams are putting more emphasis on the glass and the paint, and that has only tightened the market. So it’s entirely possible the Knicks’ frontcourt options don’t get much better before opening night, or even after.
That’s why the Simmons file has to stay open. New York may not have gotten him yet, but if he shakes loose again, the Knicks are in a spot where they can wait and see whether a real talent becomes available.
In Other News...
Knicks Still Have One Clear Roster Need Before Camp Opens
The Knicks spent the summer reshaping the front of their roster, but one quiet need remains as camp approaches: a third center. With Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond set to anchor the rotation, New York is still thin behind them after Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti departed in free agency, leaving the club looking for another big man who can give the staff some peace of mind at the start of the season.
Leon Rose and the front office have been surveying the market for veterans who can fill that gap without changing the teams bigger plans. Tony Bradley has been on the radar, and Drew Eubanks is another name in the mix as the Knicks weigh whether to add depth now or keep flexibility for later in the season. Another move could always come before the trade deadline, but for the moment, center remains the clearest unfinished item on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Still Have One Painful Carmelo Trade What If
Danilo Gallinari is back in the conversation whenever the Knicks revisit the Carmelo Anthony era, because his path is one of the clearest reminders of what New York gave up to get the star it had chased for years. Drafted by the Knicks in 2008, Gallinari spent parts of three seasons in New York before he was included in the deal that brought Anthony to Madison Square Garden during the 2010-11 season, a move that instantly reshaped the roster and the franchises direction.
The lingering what if is less about whether Anthony fit and more about how different the Knicks might have looked if they had reached him another way. Had New York been able to sign him outright, the team might have kept Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Timofey Mozgov, leaving it with more depth and balance around its centerpiece. It also could have changed some of the collateral damage from the trade, including the roster decisions that followed, which still make that deal one of the more painful exercises in hindsight for Knicks fans. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Need To Speed Up Their Center Search Fast
The Knicks have been taking a patient approach to finding help at center, but the market may not stay patient with them. A new injury in Phoenix has changed the math around available big men, and it comes at a time when New York has already been weighing its options and trying to avoid a rushed move.
Phoenix suddenly has a more urgent need to add size and depth in the middle, which could tighten the pool of available centers for everyone else. For the Knicks, that means the wait-and-see strategy they have used up to this point may not last much longer if the same players they have been monitoring start drawing heavier interest elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]