The Sacramento Kings first preseason game has come and gone with Ben Simmons riding the bench. Expectations are that he will make his debut at the Kings' preseason rematch against the Lakers, which still might not happen. There's a very weird vibe around Simmons and the Kings right now.
After a career filled with long injury absences and a steep decline in his game, Simmons chose to take the 2025-2026 season off. The purpose of this was to give his body time to heal, get his mind right, and find his passion for the game, again. Apparently, his mission was a complete success.
It was recently reported that the Kings view him as playing at near All-Star levels, which would be impressive. Their expectation is that he will work through minutes restrictions in the coming weeks, and potentially take a spot on the starting lineup down the road in the regular season.
On top of that, the Kings intend to take his return to the court slowly, which makes sense. He has been away from the league for a while, and has a long history of ongoing injury issues. Putting too much pressure on him too soon could reaggravate old problems. But this also raises some questions.
The Simmons situation in Sacramento feels off
If I'm being completely honest with you, something just doesn't seem right with Simmons and the Kings. We're being told that he's ready for an All-Star level of performance, but isn't ready to be on a court yet. Plus, any talk of him being a starter is concerning at absolute best.
Sacramento has a roster full of players, particularly rookies and sophomores, who need minutes. It's bad enough that the Kings have to give minutes to players like De'Andre Hunter who will be gone by the end of the season at the latest. Now, there's talk of Simmons taking a starting spot.
The purpose of adding Simmons to this roster was to be the backup point guard for Darius Acuff. Frankly, it's a role Elfrid Payton would better suited for. More importantly, bringing Simmons on board should not be about rehabbing Simmons or his image, which is where this seems to be going.
Every time the Kings language around Simmons gets more grandiose, the more convinced I get that something isn't right. If they keep investing in him, the impact on the franchise and the rebuild if things go south gets bigger. When it comes to Ben Simmons, things go south fast and frequently.
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