The Sacramento Kings have made official their Ben Simmons signing on Tuesday, listing the three-time All-Star as a 6’10” guard after he also had interest from the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
That official release would suggest that Simmons is set for a backup point guard role behind prize lottery pick Darius Acuff Jr, which is exactly the role the Warriors would’ve had in store for Simmons if he took up a training camp contract and eventually won a roster spot over Brandon Williams. However, based on recent comments from his former agent Rich Paul, the Kings might be making a mistake that the Warriors nearly fell into.
Kings already making a mistake with Ben Simmons turn off
While Simmons has been a point guard for the majority of his NBA career, Paul recently suggested that the former Philadelphia 76ers star needs to become more of a centre where he could utilize his passing vision as a roll man
"I remember having a conversation, me and Ben talking," Paul said on the Game Over podcast. "I said, ‘Ben, you got so much left in the tank, bro. If you just become a pick and roll five at the end of games, because your playmaking ability makes you a different rolling big.'"
It doesn’t appear as if the Kings are going to put Simmons in this kind of role, particularly as they’ve already got Domantas Sabonis as a 6’10” centre who thrives in pick-and-roll actions, along with an impressive young big man in Maxime Raynaud.
Given the Warriors don’t particularly run a whole lot of traditional pick and roll actions, it’s also unlikely Simmons would’ve been used in a way Paul recently suggested. Perhaps he would’ve been used as the passer in split cut actions, but his lack of scoring threat may have made that ineffective.
Warriors would have used Ben Simmons as a backup point guard
Considering Williams is the only fully non-guaranteed player on Golden State's 15-man roster, Simmons would’ve likely needed to beat him out as a backup point guard in preseason and training camp.
That’s not to say he wouldn’t have been helpful as a backup power forward to Draymond Green, or as an occasional small-ball five when Kristaps Porzingis and/or Al Horford are resting or injured. In fact, that’s what made Simmons intriguing as an option for the Warriors given his positional versatility that could have covered for a number of older, injury-prone players.
The Warriors were clearly intrigued given their reported interest in Simmons, and now it will be fascinating to see if it materializes as a missed opportunity depending on what role he plays and how much impact he can have in Sacramento.
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