The Sacramento Kings have added a familiar kind of gamble to their backcourt, agreeing to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with free agent Ben Simmons, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
It’s a move that gives Sacramento a backup point guard after Russell Westbrook held that role last season. Westbrook’s contract expired, and he retired instead of returning to the Kings. General manager Scott Perry then turned to another veteran facilitator with plenty of name recognition and a long, uneven NBA track record.
Simmons arrives in Sacramento with the résumé of a former top prospect. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, spent his first year sidelined, then came back to win Rookie of the Year before piling up three straight All-Star selections with Philadelphia.
His career took a hard turn after the infamous “Why did he pass that?!” play, and from there his game seemed to lose the same downhill force it once had.
Injuries soon became part of the story, and his time with the 76ers faded. He later spent two and a half seasons with Brooklyn, and his last NBA minutes came in 2024-25, when he made 33 appearances split between the Nets and Clippers.
The Kings are buying low, and they’re doing it in a spot where the need was obvious. Rookie lottery pick Darius Acuff Jr. is expected to open as the starting point guard and be a centerpiece for the organization moving forward. Behind him, the options were Malik Monk, Nique Clifford, and second-round pick Emanuel Sharp - useful pieces, but not traditional point guards.
That’s where Simmons fits. He has long been one of the league’s better table-setters, averaging 7.2 assists per game for his career. At 6’10” with an above seven-foot wingspan, he also brings a kind of defensive flexibility Sacramento can use, since he can cover a range of positions and immediately strengthen that side of the floor.
The tradeoff is obvious. Simmons has never been a reliable floor-spacer, going 5/36 from three in 383 career games.
But the Kings aren’t asking him to be a volume scorer. In a smaller role and a lower-pressure setting, the 30-year-old former top prospect could be a useful piece.
After adding Simmons, Sacramento has one roster spot left and can also bring in three more players for training camp.
The Kings’ 2026-27 preseason schedule includes: Monday, October 5th vs.
Los Angeles Lakers (7 P.M. PST)
Thursday, October 8th @ Los Angeles Lakers (7:30 P.M. PST)
Saturday, October 10th @ Golden State Warriors (5:30 P.M. PST)
Tuesday, October 13th vs. Portland Trail Blazers (7:00 P.M.
PST) Friday, October 16th @ San Antonio Spurs (7:00 P.M.
PST)
In Other News...
Kings Fans Just Got Another Brutal Reminder Of Their Team's Climb
The Kings rebuild has already asked for patience, but the last two decades have made that a tough sell to a weary fan base. Since Rick Adelmans departure, Sacramento has managed only one playoff appearance, a stretch defined by postseason droughts, front-office turnover and constant searching for the right direction, even as managing owner Vivek Ranadive has stayed in place for 13 years and GM Scott Perry has tried to push the roster toward something sturdier.
Still, the latest outside view was a harsh one. Bleacher Report projects Sacramento to sit last in its power rankings over the next three seasons, a reminder that progress in this market is still being measured against a long climb. The organization continues to treat this as a long-term build, and Perrys recent draft and roster work has drawn some optimism, but the broader picture remains clear: the Kings are still trying to prove they can turn incremental movement into real staying power. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Season Comes Down To One Pressure Point In This Rebuild
The Kings head into the 2026-27 season with the kind of roster clarity that usually only comes after a team has already made its choices. Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis are expected to form the starting group, and with the roster mostly settled, the focus in Sacramento has shifted from adding pieces to seeing what this group can become. In a rebuild, that changes the definition of success fast. Wins still matter, but so does whether the young players in the room actually move the franchise forward.
Keegan Murray sits at the center of that evaluation. His new contract starts this season, which gives the Kings both a financial commitment and a clear measuring stick for how far this rebuild can go. Projections around the team range from roughly 20 wins to 40, a reminder that the floor and ceiling are still wide apart. For Sacramento, the real pressure point is not just where the record lands, but whether the young core develops enough to make the next step feel real. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Monks Kings Role Feels Like A Rebuild Clue
Malik Monk is still in Sacramento, and that alone says something about where the Kings are headed. After trade buzz followed him through the 2025 offseason and then again at the 2026 deadline, he has stayed put, with two years left on his deal and a player option on the final season. For a Kings team that has not made any notable recent moves around him, Monks presence feels less like business as usual and more like a decision to keep one of its more movable pieces close for now.
The question is what comes next, because retaining Monk does not necessarily mean the front office is done weighing its options. Sacramento may be looking at this season as a chance to let him boost his trade value before the 2027 deadline, especially if the market shifts again. No official plan has been announced, but the longer he remains in place, the more he looks like part of a rebuild calculation rather than just a stable rotation choice. [Read more 🡒]