Ben Simmons Secures Another Bag, Signs $3.5M Deal With Kings After Gap Year

The NBA's most fascinating social experiment is officially returning to the court. After taking an entire year off to presumably think about basketball, Ben Simmons is back to secure another bag.

According to Shams Charania, the three-time All-Star has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings. Simmons is gearing up for his 10th NBA season after sitting out the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign to recover from severe back issues.

"Agents Max Wiepking, Sean Tribe, and Ryan Arney confirmed the deal to Shams Charania and Marc J. Spears."

If you look at his career averages of 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, this looks like a front-office steal. If you look at reality, you remember he missed over 58 percent of his games during his three-season stint with the Brooklyn Nets while battling a never-ending carousel of nerve issues and knee surgeries.

Paying $3.5 million for a former All-NBA talent sounds like a low-risk flyer until you realize you might just be funding a very expensive physical therapy residency. Simmons has spent more time in the last three years ramping up for a return than actually breaking a sweat in a competitive basketball game.

The Kings are desperate for perimeter defense, which is exactly what a healthy Simmons used to provide for the Philadelphia 76ers. But expecting a guy who just took a gap year to suddenly lock down the Western Conference is like buying a vintage sports car with no engine and expecting it to win a drag race.

Oddsmakers are going to have an absolute field day trying to price his impact on Sacramento's futures. The real action will be in the player prop markets, where setting a line for his total games played is going to test the courage of every sports bettor in the country.

Sacramento training camp is going to be a circus as everyone waits to see if Simmons can actually survive a full practice. Until he actually logs meaningful rotation minutes, this signing is just a very expensive hypothetical.