When the Kings signed Ben Simmons, the first thing plenty of people thought about was his body. Fair enough - the injury history is there, and Sacramento has to keep an eye on it. But the bigger issue is something less visible and, in a lot of ways, harder to fix: whether Simmons can stay locked in mentally and emotionally.
That’s really been the split in his career. On one side is the player who once looked like a point guard built to reshape the position, the kind of talent that seemed ready to become a champion. On the other is the version of Simmons whose career has been dragged off course by injuries, poor decisions, and his own worst instincts.
Yes, the back problems and the other physical setbacks have mattered. But the source of the decline has gone beyond health.
Simmons has also battled a loss of confidence so severe that it changed the way he played. After the injuries piled up and he spent time on the 76ers bench before they traded him, he was never close to the player he could have been.
The game didn’t just slow him down; it seemed to swallow him whole.
At his lowest point, Simmons stopped believing in himself and, by the source’s telling, lost his passion for basketball altogether. That’s part of why he took a year off to go fishing.
Somewhere in that break, he found the game again and realized it was still where he wanted to be. For Sacramento, that has to be the hope: that his head is finally in the right place.
But once that kind of doubt gets in, it doesn’t just vanish. It lingers.
Simmons may spend the rest of his career with that voice in the back of his mind, the one that sounds a lot like Stephen A. Smith telling him that he doesn’t belong on the court.
And simply telling him to ignore it won’t make it disappear. That’s where the Kings come in. The organization, and the city behind it, will have to help carry him through that mental drag.
Nobody can say whether injuries will hit him again. They might.
They might not. But the self-doubt is already part of the picture.
If Sacramento gives him a real chance, Simmons could still deliver.
In Other News...
Kings What If From 2017 Still Cuts Deep Today
Seven years later, the Kings 2017 draft still lingers as one of those franchise touchstones that gets revisited whenever the conversation turns to what might have been. Sacramento took DeAaron Fox at No. 5 overall and Zach Collins at No. 10, moves made with a clear eye toward building around speed, fit and familiarity. In hindsight, a Bleacher Report redraft swapping in OG Anunoby and Josh Hart only sharpens the sense that this was one of the pivotal nights in the organizations recent history.
Former Kings executive Vlade Divac has spoken about why the team stuck with Fox instead of chasing Luka Doni, pointing to market fit and relationships as part of the equation. Those are the kinds of decisions that can define a front office for years, and for Sacramento, the 2017 class remains a reminder of how thin the line can be between a foundation and a missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Karaban Could Push Into The Kings Rotation Faster Than Expected
Alex Karaban arrives in Sacramento with a profile the Kings can at least imagine using sooner rather than later. Drafted by Cleveland at No. 29 and then sent to the Kings, the UConn product brings the kind of size and efficient offensive game that can make a rookie easier to fold into a rotation, especially for a team always looking for useful minutes on the wing and up front.
Karabans college track record gives him a real case for early opportunity, with 151 games at UConn and steady production across the board. The bigger question for Sacramento is whether that success translates cleanly to the NBA game, because that answer will go a long way toward determining how quickly he can push into the Kings' rotation during his first season. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Face One Real Roster Question With Final Spot Still Open
The Kings still have one open roster spot, and it has become the kind of late-summer question that can quietly shape the rest of a season. Sacramento already has 17 players under contract, including Ben Simmons and Elfrid Payton, so any addition now would be less about filling a headline need and more about deciding whether the last place goes to another veteran option or a younger player who might grow into the role.
Cam Whitmore is one of the names worth watching after being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers, since he fits the Kings timeline as a young wing. The issue, as always with a crowded roster this time of year, is whether there will be enough playing time to make that kind of upside move worthwhile. Sacramento has not announced any signing involving Whitmore, which leaves the final spot open and the decision very much unresolved. [Read more 🡒]