Sacramento Kings: Analyzing the possible fit of Ben Simmons

While Ben Simmons is a man of many talents, it’s necessary to address how his shooting struggles would affect the Sacramento Kings.

However, there’s a sizable downside that comes as baggage with Simmons, and that wouldn’t exactly be helped by going to the Kings. Yes, three-point shooting and outside shooting in general will be a concern if Fox’s shooting doesn’t stabilize and Simmons continues to be timid outside the paint, no matter how many workout videos get posted on Twitter. Two legitimate shooting threats from beyond in Haliburton and Barnes just isn’t enough in today’s NBA and they could run into trouble offensively against a team with size and length at every position, as they’d be well equipped to wall off the paint.

This problem would be further exacerbated in a playoff scenario when the open court is sealed off and transition buckets are hard to come by. Hack-a-Ben was in full force in this past playoff run and a ghastly 34 percent mark from the stripe cost the 76ers their first conference finals appearance of The Process.

It had such a profound effect on Simmons’ psyche that he avoided finishes at the basket in fear of getting fouled; the first domino to fall in this saga. If the Kings can’t drum up some half-court offense, they’ll be in trouble. It’d be up to coach Luke Walton and his staff to curate some lineups to address this looming issue.

In summary, Simmons is a great player and brings a lot of what the current Kings lack, so it’s good to see the Kings doing their due diligence on him. However, the reason why he’s available to begin with is well-documented, and there’s a serious championship-costing downside here. Any team, not just the Kings, would need to make sure they have the infrastructure in place to support perhaps the most polarizing player in the NBA.