The Golden State Warriors haven't necessarily had their pick of the litter this offseason.
After LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Warriors had no choice but to extend the full $27.7 million to Draymond Green that he would've been owed originally on his player option—leaving them essentially with only veteran minimum contracts to dole out with their final three roster spots. Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, their most promising options left on the market, signed with true contenders in hopes of competing for a championship in the twilight of their careers.
The Warriors were left adding Georges Niang and Brandon Williams on partially-guaranteed deals before signing Dalen Terry to compete for a roster spot on an Exhibit-10 contract. Each of these deals has some degree of upside, but these players are certainly somewhat limited in the impact they can make for Golden State over the course of the season.
Now, with training camp just over three weeks away, the Warriors have missed out on another potential target. After Ben Simmons signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings this morning, Sam Amick at The Athletic reported that both the New York Knicks and the Warriors were also in the mix for the three-time All Star.
But this isn't a miss that Golden State should immediately regret. As much upside as there might be in a Simmons signing, the obvious downsides present risks the Warriors frankly can't afford to take right now.
Ben Simmons is an intriguing swing, but he wasn't the right fit for the Warriors' rotation
If Simmons turns out to be even a serviceable basketball player for the Kings, then perhaps this take will ultimately be wrong. Even though he's been out of the league for a year, the shadow of his prior production still hangs over him— we've seen him be a relatively dominant two-way force at the height of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sacramento is gambling on him to revive even a portion of that impact on their roster, and that's the bet the Warriors were likely looking to make if they had succeeded in signing him.
But Simmons' health issues and lack of availability over the past few seasons can't simply be ignored. Simmons has played more than 50 games just once since he left Philadelphia in 2022, and his production has been severely limited even when he's been available. Across three seasons split between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers, he averaged just 5.9 points and did not take a single 3-point attempt in that span.
Sure, he might have higher upside than Niang, Williams, and Terry. But if we set Niang's injury that forced him to miss all of 2025-26 to the side, those three players provide much more certainty than Simmons ever could.
Niang can grant the Warriors some additional offensive juice in the frontcourt, and some perimeter shooting, on a limited workload. Williams has experience as a lead ball-handler, and he has a chance to be a major piece off the bench, helping to relieve some of the pressure on Stephen Curry over the course of the season. If Terry ultimately makes the roster, he can serve as an additional 3-and-D presence on the wing in the absence of Moses Moody.
If we're comparing each of these players' potential impacts over the course of a full 82-game slate, assuming full availability and a full realization of their potential, Simmons wins out easily. But what are the odds that Simmons is able to unlock anything more than what we saw from him in Brooklyn? And what are the odds he appears in more than 50 games?
With the injuries they'll already be enduring in 2026-27, Golden State needs to straddle a combination of certainty and upside in their rotation. Simmons leans dangerously close to pure upside, and that would've been a bad bet for Golden State.
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