Many of you have now been Sacramento Kings fans for literally decades, and discussions of playoffs have been a topic rarely heard in the city of Sacramento.
Enter new GM Scott Perry who has been promising changes with regard to bad drafts and trades that don’t make sense.
Although Perry has made a couple of moves that I strongly disagree with, the jury is largely still out as he has begun in earnest his quote, “rebuild.”
DeAaron Fox was traded not on his watch, but make no mistake about it, the decision to bring on the 1st overall pick in the 2016 draft is all about Scott Perry.
Sink or swim, the acquisition of Ben Simmons, albeit for only one year and a price tag of only 3.5 million, lands entirely in the lap of Scott Perry.
Just a week ago in this column I wrote that the possibility existed that the Kings may have interest in signing Simmons, who has had a checkered past to say the least, and now the suspense is over, and Ben Simmons is now about to become a full-fledged member of the Sacramento Kings family.
I am an ardent believer that any player attempting a comeback deserves his opportunity to allow the fan base see what he has in the tank, and I for one will not root against this player that has literally been injury prone for the entirety of his 10-year NBA career.
It is rare that an organization has the opportunity to acquire a player drafted $1 overall, and in the case of 6’10” Ben Simmons he is coming to the Kings after sitting out the entire 2025/2026 season.
The prevailing problem has been related to back issues for Simmons, but according to Simmons himself, he wasn’t going to try and mount a comeback until he was “bulletproof.”
The Kings recently worked out Simmons in Sacramento, and he had a meeting with Scott Perry that obviously went well.
Simmons stats are not eyepopping, but certainly worthy of taking note. Over a ten-year career spent with 3 teams, Simmons had a scoring average of just over 13 points per game, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1.5 steals.
To his credit, although most widely noted for missing games due to injury, Simmons made the all-star team one time, and in 2021 was runner up for the defensive player of the year.
Aside from the perpetual injury bug, if there is one knock on this otherwise talented big man, it is his abysmal free throw shooting.
At an astonishing low 59% he brings back memories of another talented big man who couldn’t make free throws by the name of Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt shot an almost unbelievable 51% from the charity strip, and like Shaquille Oneal he was known for his inability to make free throws when it counted.
Sadly, Ben Simmons is coming to a team that is typically dead last in free throw shooting, so who on the Kings team is going to step up and teach this 10-year veteran how to improve in an area that he clearly knows little about?
The Kings coaching staff?
If you thought all eyes were on Darius Acuff Jr., wait till you see Ben Simmons take the floor for the Sacramento Kings.
As I said before, I refuse to root against Simmons regardless of past problems, and I don’t believe the Kings would sign him to a contract of any length if they thought he wasn’t 100% healthy.
I want to close my eyes and imagine what a healthy Ben Simmons looks like playing alongside Domantas Sabonis, with a talented rookie point guard distributing the ball, and 2 capable 3-point shooters on the wings in Zach Lavine and Keegan Murray.
Does this new lineup have potential? Absolutely it does, and once again it boils down to staying away from injuries and allowing a group of very talented players to develop chemistry and do what they do.
If you’re an ardent Kings fan it’s almost impossible not to get excited.
Look for an opening night that Sacramento hasn’t seen in years, and all of a sudden ticket sales just went up!
Stay tuned Kings fans because there is more to come.
All the best!
V.G, Harris
Vince Harris is an area resident and the author of Kings Corner, in which he contributes to Folsom Times, giving readers a look at the happenings on the court and behind the scenes of the Sacramento Kings.
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