The Sacramento Kings have taken a swing on one of the NBA’s most intriguing bargain bets, agreeing to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Ben Simmons.
For a team coming off a 22-60 season, that price tag matters. Sacramento isn’t paying for the old Simmons - the former No. 1 pick, the All-Star, the player who once looked like a franchise centerpiece. This is a much smaller bet: one year, modest money, and a chance to see whether there’s still a rotation-caliber player left after a full season away from the league.
ESPN’s Shams Charania and Marc J. Spears reported the agreement on Friday morning.
Simmons, 30, is now set to enter what would be his 10th NBA season. He had been working toward a return for months, including multiple workouts with the Kings, and there were already reports that he “looked fantastic” when Sacramento’s front office watched him work out in Florida.
The Kings clearly believe enough is left in the tank to make the gamble worth it. And at this number, it is.
Sacramento finished 14th in the Western Conference last season, with the league’s 26th-ranked offense and 28th-ranked defense. The roster has changed some - DeMar DeRozan is gone, De’Andre Hunter has entered the wing rotation, and No. 7 overall pick Darius Acuff Jr. is being handed the point guard keys for the future - but the team still has a glaring need for another ball-handler who can defend multiple spots, rebound, and keep the offense moving.
That’s the lane Simmons can still occupy.
In 2024-25, his last NBA season, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in 22.0 minutes over 51 games, while shooting 52.0% from the field. He also added 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. The scoring number looks modest, but the passing still pops: 5.6 assists in that kind of workload tells you the playmaking never really disappeared.
What Sacramento does not need is Simmons taking over the offense. They need him pushing the ball after defensive rebounds, finding Zach LaVine in transition, setting up Malik Monk for clean looks, and giving Doug Christie another big guard who can hold his own defensively against wings and larger perimeter players.
The downside is obvious, and it’s the same one that has followed Simmons for years: the shot still isn’t there. He didn’t attempt a three-pointer in all 51 games last season, and that creates a real issue on a roster that still runs through Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists last season on 54.3% shooting, but his game lives in the paint, around the elbows, and in screening actions. Put another non-shooter beside him for long stretches, and the spacing can get cramped in a hurry.
A Simmons-Sabonis pairing for 25-plus minutes a night is not exactly the cleanest offensive solution. If Sacramento keeps Sabonis around, Christie will have to be selective with Simmons’ usage. He makes more sense in faster second-unit groups with shooting around him than in lineups that already struggle to create room.
Health is the bigger question than fit, though. Simmons hasn’t played an NBA game since 2025, and his back has been the issue that keeps dragging his career off track.
He played 42 games in 2022-23, 15 in 2023-24, and 51 in 2024-25 before sitting out last season entirely. No one can pretend to know exactly what he has left.
There have been some positive signs. Reports said Simmons was training with “zero restrictions” during a private minicamp with Australian national-team players.
Sacramento also put him through workouts before signing off, with general manager Scott Perry evaluating him in person. The Kings have been looking for veteran guard help, and Simmons fit that search.
If the back acts up again or he can’t keep up with NBA speed, the Kings can simply move on. At $3.5 million, the downside is tiny. But if he can give them even 15 or 20 useful minutes a night - defending, rebounding, organizing the offense - the contract is worth it in a hurry.
That’s why this feels like a smart swing for Sacramento. The Kings have already started behaving like a team that knows a 22-60 season demands change, with DeRozan waived and veterans like LaVine and Sabonis in the mix for possible deals.
Simmons is not going to rescue the franchise, and nobody should expect a return to the three All-Star selections or the old All-NBA level. But Sacramento doesn’t need that version for this move to work.
They’re getting a 30-year-old former top pick with rare size for a ball-handler, a career average of 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals, and a skill set that can still matter on a team desperate for help on the defensive end.
For one year and $3.5 million, that’s a gamble worth making.
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