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Sacramento Kings guard Ben Simmons drew interest from multiple NBA teams before deciding to continue his career in Sacramento.
NBA insider Brett Siegel revealed on the Clutch Scoops podcast that the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks were both interested in bringing Simmons to training camp, while the Minnesota Timberwolves also made contact.
"The Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks were both interested in signing him to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal," Siegel said. "It was reported that Minnesota reached out with a non-guaranteed deal as well."
Despite those opportunities, Simmons chose Sacramento.
"And he ultimately chose to bypass those potential playoff and championship contending teams to join the Sacramento Kings, a team that believes in him, a place where they have a clear vision for how to use him," Siegel said.
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Simmons returns after year away from NBA
The Kings officially signed Simmons to a one-year, $3.5 million contract earlier in September.
The three-time NBA All-Star spent the entire 2025-26 season away from the league after failing to find a contract and situation that suited him.
He last appeared in the NBA during the 2024-25 campaign, splitting his time between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
"It's a good spot for him because he's joining a team that's not going to have a spotlight on him," Siegel said. "It's not going to be all about, 'Oh, is Ben Simmons back? Can he play to the level that he was supposed to be as a number one pick early on in his career?'"
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Simmons is expected to provide Sacramento with additional playmaking and experience.
"I think that he's going to take a lot of pressure off of Darius Acuff and kind of play the role that they had last season with Russell Westbrook where he was a good veteran for the young guards on this team," Siegel said. "They're going to be looking at Ben Simmons to kind of do the same."
Simmons averaged 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 22.0 minutes over 51 games during his most recent NBA season in 2024-25.