Draymond Green Says Ben Simmons Joining Kings Is Good News For Darius Acuff Jr
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Draymond Green recently recorded an episode of his podcast, ‘The Draymond Green Show,’ in which he discussed several league topics, including Ben Simmons’ NBA return with the Sacramento Kings.
Simmons signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Kings to make his comeback to basketball after taking a year away from the league. When he last played in the 2024-25 season, he averaged 5.6 assists, 5.0 points, and 4.7 rebounds in 51 games while shooting 52.0% from the floor.
Green recognizes that while Ben Simmons is no longer the same All-Star-caliber player people saw in his prime, his arrival mainly benefits Darius Acuff Jr., the 19-year-old point guard the Kings picked seventh overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
“Number one, I’m happy to see Ben Simmons back in the NBA. Ben Simmons is a talent that, you know, doesn’t grow on trees, and we don’t get the opportunity to see in the NBA every day. Ben Simmons got off to a very promising start in his career, and then a lot of people try to blame his game and not his injuries.”
“It sucks that when guys get injuries, ultimately people start blaming them as a player, you know, as if you have control over the injuries that happened. And I know Ben Simmons was dealing with a back issue. And I know most people don’t understand what that means, but let me tell you, as someone who dealt with a back issue, it’s debilitating,” Draymond Green said.
“You cannot move. You can’t touch your toes. You can barely sit. You get tingling down your feet. You get it down your legs, and it goes into your feet. It’s painful. And most importantly, it’s mentally draining. It’s mentally draining. Now you couple that with all of the ridiculing that you receive that comes your way due to the injury, and it’s brutal.
“And so I felt for Ben Simmons, and I’m happy to see him back in the NBA because the injuries aren’t always nice, and to see him get another opportunity, uh, to see him excited. I actually spoke with Ben Simmons and saw how excited he was to play basketball.”
“The first thing he said is, “Man, I’m healthy. I’m healthy.” Like, I’m like, it feels so good to be healthy. And that’s incredible, uh, to put the work in when everybody counted you out, when you don’t need the money. Just doing fine in this life, and when everybody counted you out, to go back to the drawing board and get healthy, get back to being a good NBA player.”
“By the way, I’m not saying Ben Simmons is coming out, and he’s about to be Ben Simmons of, you know, the young Ben Simmons who’s an All-Star every year. I’m not saying that. But just for him to have a healthy season, because if he can just have a healthy season, we know the talent level. We know the IQ. We know his feel for the game.”
“Other teams who also showed interest were the Warriors, Timberwolves, and the Knicks. Uh, but none of them ultimately offered a contract. Now, looking at this signing, I think it is great for Darius Acuff. Uh, you have a Ben Simmons who’s eager to make it right, who’s—so he’s going to give you the game. Uh, and he’s going to work his a– off,” Green explained.
“I think this is great for Darius Acuff Jr. Let’s face it, Ben Simmons is Ben Simmons. This will take some of the pressure off Darius Acuff. If Ben Simmons isn’t playing well, people are going to point to him and say, ‘Hey, he’s not playing well.’ And if he is playing well, people are going to point to Ben Simmons and say, ‘Yo, look, he’s back.'”
“And so, I think this ultimately takes a lot of pressure off Darius Acuff going into a Sacramento Kings situation that is not as great as one would like, right?”
“You got Sabonis coming off an injury, and all the news is about how they can’t trade him fast enough. They’re trying to figure it out. You know, they just let DeMar DeRozan walk, Russell Westbrook walk. Like, this is a—you obviously still have Zach LaVine there.”
“Everybody’s just waiting on the date, the clock, the calendar to tick, strike, to where he’s traded. Like, these are the rumblings coming out of Sacramento,” Green admitted, being aware of the rumors.
“And so this ultimately can take some pressure off Darius Acuff, who’s coming in as the seventh pick in the NBA draft under a lot of pressure. This can help relieve some of that stress. And for a general manager who knows as much as Scott Perry does, I think that’s one of the deciding factors, if not the deciding factor, behind this move.”
“But needless to say, I think it’s a good move for the Kings. I think it’s a good move, obviously, for Ben Simmons to see him back in the NBA, and most importantly, I think this is a good move for Darius Acuff that will allow some of the pressure to come off of Acuff and allow him to grow like rookies need to grow.”
“This is not the most ideal situation for a rookie to be in. Obviously, you got the ball a lot. That could be good or bad, right? But, you know, this is a good move, and I—I don’t think people will value this move enough.”
“But I’m looking forward to seeing a healthy Ben Simmons. Healthy, confident Ben Simmons back on the floor, as everybody has counted him out,” Green concluded.
As a veteran point guard, most would have anticipated that Ben Simmons could be expected to personally mentor Darius Acuff Jr. But reports have suggested that the Kings do not want him to play that role.
But Green believes that, simply with his presence and the media attention he draws, Simmons landing in Sacramento will take the pressure off Darius Acuff Jr’s shoulders to grow, possibly without the scrutiny he would have faced if he were the primary starting point guard at this stage in his NBA career.
It will be interesting to see how Ben Simmons strikes that balance between focusing on his own bounce-back and imparting important knowledge to the promising 19-year-old point guard.