Ben Simmons is getting another shot, and the Sacramento Kings are the team willing to take it.
The former NBA All-Star has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million free-agent contract with the Kings, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Marc J. Spears reported Friday, citing agents Max Wiepking, Sean Tribe and Ryan Arney.
Simmons spent the 2025-26 NBA season out of the league, and his last game action came on April 29, 2025, in the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. Now he’s back for a 10th NBA season.
Drafted No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, Simmons missed the entire 2016-17 season because of a foot injury. Once he finally made it onto the floor, he looked every bit the star the Sixers expected, earning 2017-18 Rookie of the Year honors and making three straight All-Star teams.
His career, though, took a hard turn after that.
After a difficult playoff run with Philadelphia to close the 2021 season, Simmons made it clear he no longer wanted to play for the 76ers and sat out. The Sixers eventually dealt him the following February to the Brooklyn Nets in the trade that brought James Harden to Philadelphia.
Simmons logged 90 games across parts of three seasons with Brooklyn before the Nets waived him in February 2025. He then joined the Clippers and finished the season there.
Now he lands in Sacramento, where the Kings are trying to rebuild and are looking for veteran leadership. Last season, Russell Westbrook handled that job, and the hope is Simmons can fill a similar role this year.
In Other News...
Jerry Reynolds Just Floated A Risky Kings Option Worth Watching
Jerry Reynolds has never been shy about weighing the Kings next move, and his latest thought exercise put a familiar high-risk name back in the conversation. Reynolds said he is skeptical about Sacramento pursuing Ben Simmons, but he also made the case that there is a version of the deal that could make sense if the price is right. For a Kings roster built around Darius Acuff Jr., Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray, the appeal is easy to see: Simmons still brings size, passing and defensive versatility that could fill a very specific need if the contract and expectations are manageable.
The catch is the same one that has followed Simmons for years, and Reynolds did not ignore it. Fit remains the central question, along with where Simmons is in his career now and whether the Kings would be wise to attach any meaningful risk to the idea. Even so, Reynolds contrasted Simmons NBA resume with the uncertainty that often comes with other recent lottery picks, which is why the discussion matters at all for Sacramento. If the Kings are looking for a swing that could raise their ceiling without costing them heavily, Simmons is the kind of name that forces the front office to at least think it through. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Just Got Another Brutal Reminder Of Their Team's Climb
The Kings have spent much of the past two decades trying to climb back into the kind of consistent relevance that once felt routine, and the stretch since Rick Adelman left has been especially punishing. Sacramento has made just one playoff appearance in that span, a reminder of how hard it has been to put together both stability and sustained success. Even with Vivek Ranadive now in his 13th year overseeing the franchise and Scott Perry making encouraging moves through the draft and broader rebuild, the bigger picture still looks like a team trying to turn progress into something lasting.
Bleacher Reports latest outlook only adds to the frustration, projecting Sacramento to sit at the bottom of its power rankings over the next three seasons. For a fan base that has already waited through years of turnover and near-misses, it is another harsh reminder that the climb back is still very much a climb. The organization continues to frame the work as a long-term project, but the outside view suggests the Kings still have a long way to go before the rest of the league believes the turnaround is real. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Starting Five Comes With One Huge Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Kings are entering another season with a lineup that looks better on paper than it ever got to look on the court last year. Sacramento spent the 2025-2026 campaign fighting through roster imbalance and a long list of injuries, and the projected starters never once managed to take the floor together. Now the expected five for 2026-2027, with Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray and Darius Acuff Jr., at least gives the franchise a clearer picture of what it wants to be.
Still, clarity is not the same thing as stability, and that is where the concern comes in for a team trying to build under a relatively new general manager and head coach. Injuries have already shown how fragile the plan can be, and potential trades involving LaVine, Sabonis and Hunter could alter the whole shape of the rotation before it ever settles in. For a young Kings group in the middle of a rebuild, the biggest question is not just who starts, but whether this version of the starting five will last long enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]