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According to Carmichael Dave of Sactown Sports 1140, general manager Scott Perry watched Ben Simmons work out, and someone who was there later told Dave that Simmons “looked fantastic.” Amid rumors linking Simmons to an NBA return, the Sacramento Kings are starting to look like the favorites to land him, as they are still looking for a veteran guard. Simmons is reportedly healthy, fully cleared, and open to playing on a veteran-minimum deal. Nobody should expect the old three-time All-Star version anymore, but for almost no financial risk, the Kings could see if there is still enough defense, passing, and size there to help a young backcourt. And honestly, Sacramento is a pretty logical place for that experiment. The Kings went 22-60 last season, finished 14th in the West, drafted Darius Acuff Jr. No. 7 overall, and clearly need to start figuring out what their next core looks like. They already have Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and several younger guards, so Simmons wouldn’t come in to save anything. He’d just give them a completely different type of player. Here’s how that backcourt could look if Sacramento decides to sign him. Starting Backcourt Point guard – Darius Acuff Jr. Shooting guard – Zach LaVine Darius Acuff Jr. will absolutely start from Day 1. The Kings didn’t take him seventh overall just to hide him behind some veteran for half a season, especially after he averaged 23.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds at Arkansas while shooting 48.4% from the field and 44.0% from three. He’s 19, there are obviously going to be ugly nights, but Sacramento needs to find out how quickly he can become the franchise point guard of this team. Zach LaVine makes sense next to him because Acuff shouldn’t have to create every scoring chance by himself. LaVine still averaged 19.2 points while shooting 47.9% from the field and 39.0% from three last season, and he’s making $49.0 million after picking up his player option. He’s going to play, and he’s going to shoot a lot, so using him as the experienced scorer next to Acuff feels like the easiest setup for the rookie. Defense will get ugly with those two together, sure. But offensively, there is enough there to make life easier for the rookie. Acuff can run pick-and-roll, LaVine can play off the ball more, and Domantas Sabonis gives them another guy who can run sets from the middle of the floor. For a rebuilding team, that’s a pretty solid place to start. Main Bench Rotation Point guard – Ben Simmons Shooting guard – Malik Monk This is where Simmons actually gets interesting to me. His last NBA impression wasn’t close to prime Ben Simmons. He averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in 22.0 minutes between the Nets and Clippers in 2024-25, didn’t take a single three, and clearly wasn’t the same athlete who once looked like one of the best young players in basketball. But Sacramento wouldn’t need that guy anymore. Give him 16-to-20 minutes, let him grab rebounds and push the ball, defend bigger guards, create easy shots for the second unit, and please, don’t ask him to score. If his body can still handle that, there is a role here. Simmons has always been at his best when he can just make reads and create for the rest instead of being asked to become something he isn’t. Malik Monk also feels like a pretty natural partner for him. Monk averaged 12.5 points and 3.0 assists last season while shooting 39.5% from three, and I’d rather have him scoring than trying to run the offense. Simmons handling the playmaking could free Monk up to be more aggressive again. The spacing obviously isn’t perfect. Simmons can’t shoot, Sabonis isn’t exactly a stretch center, and Sacramento can’t have three non-shooters on the floor together. Doug Christie would need to be smart with those groups, probably keeping at least two shooters around Simmons at all times. Still, as a bench combo, I like it. Monk brings the scoring. Simmons brings the passing, size, and defense. Neither one needs to copy what the other does. Additional Guard Depth Nique Clifford Emanuel Sharp Daeqwon Plowden Adam Flagler Nique Clifford probably gets a lot more minutes than the words “additional depth” suggest. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists as a rookie, started 28 games, and had some really nice stretches late in the year. At 6-foot-6, he’s also one of the few guards here who actually gives Sacramento some size defensively. That’s why I can easily see Clifford playing 25-plus minutes even if he isn’t technically part of the starting backcourt. He can take minutes at shooting guard and small forward, defend bigger wings, rebound, and help cover for some of the smaller combinations Sacramento will use. His 33.3% from three needs to improve, but the overall role is already there. Emanuel Sharp is more developmental for now. Sacramento took him No. 45 in the Draft, and his shooting should eventually give him a pathway into the rotation, but there isn’t really a reason to force minutes with LaVine, Monk, Clifford, and potentially Simmons ahead of him. Daeqwon Plowden and Adam Flagler are even further down the hierarchy. Plowden can give them some wing minutes if injuries hit, while Flagler is basically emergency point guard depth. If everybody is healthy, there simply aren’t enough guard minutes for all of these guys. How The Minutes Could Look Darius Acuff Jr. – 33 MPG Zach LaVine – 31 MPG Nique Clifford – 28 MPG Malik Monk – 25 MPG Ben Simmons – 15 MPG Emanuel Sharp – 8 MPG Those numbers obviously don’t fit into a 96-minute backcourt because Clifford will play plenty of small forward and Simmons can basically function as a point forward next to two guards. But that’s roughly how I’d see the hierarchy. Acuff needs a lot of developmental minutes. LaVine is still too established and too expensive to suddenly play 24 minutes, as they’d love to see his stock rise and trade him for something. Monk remains the main scorer off the bench, while Clifford probably finds his way onto the court no matter which position Sacramento lists him at. And Simmons? Less than 20 minutes feels perfect. There is absolutely no reason to throw him into a 28-minute role in October just because somebody said he looked great in a workout. He hasn’t played an NBA game in more than a year. Let him get through a few weeks, see how the back responds, see if the defense still looks NBA-level, and then go from there. If Simmons looks surprisingly good, bump him to 22 or 24. If he looks like the last Clippers version, cut the role down. That’s the nice part about signing him for the minimum. Sacramento doesn’t have to build anything around him. Simmons Could Give The Kings Something They Don’t Have The Kings already have enough guards who want to score. LaVine can still get 20 on any night, Monk can randomly catch fire for a quarter, and Acuff was drafted because Sacramento thinks he can eventually become a major offensive piece like some All-Star guards currently in the league. What they don’t really have is a 6-foot-10 ball-handler who can defend, rebound, and make plays without needing 15 shots, and that’s where Simmons is different. Even the broken-down version still averaged 5.6 assists in only 22.0 minutes the last time he played. His career numbers are 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.5 steals, and he made two All-Defensive teams before the injuries completely changed the conversation around him. There is also almost zero pressure on him here. Acuff is the future point guard. LaVine is still the veteran starter. Monk is the sixth man. Clifford needs development minutes. Simmons would just be the fifth piece of that group trying to prove he can still help an NBA team. And that’s probably the best situation for him at this point. We’ve all seen the Ben Simmons offseason cycle before. Great workout videos, good reports about his body, then the season starts, and everything starts cracking down again. Sacramento obviously has to be careful with that. If the “fantastic” workout actually means Simmons has some juice back, a minimum deal could be a really useful little move. And if it doesn’t? Sacramento can keep developing Acuff, Monk, Clifford, and the rest without changing anything important. For a 22-win team, that’s a gamble worth taking.