One thing has remained clear throughout the NBA offseason: the Sacramento Kings want as much support as possible in the point guard position.
Additionally, they aren't willing to do anything drastic, at least not right now. Therefore, any moves they make will likely be minimal at best. But just because they don't want to make large adjustments doesn't mean they have to commit to bad ones. Unfortunately, new rumors have said the Kings could be targeting a free agent who has been the definition of diminishing returns.
Ben Simmons would be cheap but wouldn't contribute anything to the Kings
In his latest piece, Marc Stein said that the Kings are interested in adding Ben Simmons, who most recently played for the Los Angeles Clippers. In some ways, signing Simmons makes sense. But in other, more substantial ways, it feels like a complete mistake.
Let's go over the good about Simmons before we discuss the bad and the ugly. Firstly, the 29-year-old guard is a three-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year. During his best moments, he was producing nearly 17.0 points and 9.0 rebounds a night for the Philadelphia 76ers. The man was one of the most promising young stars in the league.
On top of that, he would move to the Kings on a very inexpensive contract, which means Sacramento could save money and, therefore, have little skin in the game if Simmons comes up short.
Now the bad. Speaking of coming up short, that seems to be all that Simmons does these days. He hasn't averaged more than 10 points or 7 rebounds in years. His numbers have continually trended in the wrong direction since sitting out his final season with the Sixers. Some people thought he would turn it around with the Brooklyn Nets, but that didn't happen. Maybe he'd have better luck with the Los Angeles Clippers? Nope, he produced just 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists during his 18 games with the team.
And the ugly? Simmons cannot stay healthy. Over the last three seasons, he has played in a total of 159 games because of various problems with his health. So even if the Kings did sign him, how often would he be able to play?
Simmons is a walking red flag and multiple teams have found that out the hard way. If there was any indication that his health would be better and his heart would be in the game, the Kings would be smart to take a chance on him. But beyond an affordable salary, he probably wouldn't bring much to the team.