As the guard-needy Miami Heat still sit here with a major area on the roster unaddressed, one option came off the board this week.
After being without a team for roughly 1 ½ years, Ben Simmons is getting another opportunity, this time with the rebuilding Sacramento Kings.
“Ben Simmons, the 30-year-old, three-time All-Star who sat out all of last season while recovering from his longstanding back issues, has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings,” The Athletic wrote. “The deal, according to team sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced, marks the return of a player whose lengthy injury history and unfulfilled promise have long been a topic of discussion in the NBA. ESPN was first to report the deal.”
With the Heat lacking a dependable point guard outside of Davion Mitchell, Simmons surely made on-paper sense as a target. So, why didn’t the Heat take a chance on the veteran who was once a top player in the NBA?
Reason Miami Heat Said No to Ben Simmons
The Heat front office, to its credit, has addressed multiple roster concerns this offseason; it wouldn’t be fair to suggest the team hasn’t done its part to improve the roster. But in the case of not pursuing Simmons, team insider Ira Winderman explained why Simmons wasn’t a realistic option for Miami.
“At a certain point, a team in win-now mode has to draw a valuation line between players who can be developed/reclaimed and those needed to be able to contribute in the moment, without questions of whether they are healthy enough or still skilled enough,” Winderman wrote in a subscriber-only Q&A. “In the development bucket, the Heat have Ryan Conwell, Myron Gardner, Tre Donaldson and even, still, Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson. So adding an unknown quantity would have meant going without, say, a Nick Richards or Klay Thompson or Tim Hardaway Jr.”
Simmons, who will serve as a backup guard option in Sacramento, is a much stronger fit for the Kings than the Heat, Winderman argued.
“The Kings make all the sense for Ben Simmons and he makes all the sense for them. There is no pressure to produce in Sacramento, but rather begin a potential climb back to relevance. And if Ben can make it back to something close to the best of his healthy, contributing self, there will be further more to consider down the road.”
What Will Miami Do Next?
The Heat can make a move. It can also stand pat. The team has one more roster spot available and a minimum contract it can hand out before crossing the apron line.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Heat has interest in bringing a veteran guard.
“(Klay Thompson) taking that $5.6 million salary allowed Miami to stay under their threshold and what have you,” Fischer reported this week. “… The Heat, to my understanding, do have some internal interest in looking at a veteran guard to round out their backcourt. Right now, they don’t have a ton of depth beyond Davion Mitchell at the position.”
There are free agents still out there that could interest the Heat. Former Miami guard Gabe Vincent might be one. Others like Victor Oladipo, Bruce Brown and Lonzo Ball are some players still looking for a team.
Report: Miami Heat’s Reason for Rejecting Ben Simmons Revealed