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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 20: Ben Simmons #25 of the LA Clippers walks backcourt during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on February 20, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Sacramento Kings<\/a> signed three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons<\/a> on a one-year deal this offseason.<\/p>\n Simmons didn\u2019t play competitive basketball last season, and it looked like he found a new passion in sportfishing.<\/p>\n However, the Australian guard managed to get a workout in front of Kings executives and coaches, impressing enough to get signed to a non-guaranteed $3.6 million<\/a> contract.<\/p>\n Ben Simmons\u2019 Reason for NBA Return<\/p>\n \n In an appearance on The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross<\/a>, Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry explained how he came into contact with Ben Simmons.<\/p>\n Perry also revealed Simmons\u2019 primary motivation for returning to professional basketball.<\/p>\n \u201cBen Simmons is healthy now and he is really looking to make a comeback in the game,\u201d Perry said via HoopsHype<\/a>. \u201cIt is really interesting, just looking for the right place. When I received that call, I was home in Florida and next thing I know, we get connected with Ben. \u2026 The guy had made a lot of money in the sport, he had done well, and why was he interested in coming back?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of things that came out right away from him is that, \u2018Hey, Scott, this is the first time I have been healthy in two years,’\u201d the executive added. \u201cAnd secondly, and probably most importantly, obviously the health being very important, but his mental, he said, \u2018I just miss playing basketball. I miss competing, I miss being part of a team and I just want to be able to contribute to a team and get back to playing basketball.’\u201d<\/p>\n \n Things started trending down for Simmons when he passed on a wide-open layup in a crucial part of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Simmons was never the same mentally after that play, especially after getting called out by Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> fans and thrown under the bus by then-coach Doc Rivers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ben Simmons\u2019 Back Issues<\/p>\n \n The mental side of Ben Simmons\u2019 struggles was not evident in his on-court performances since leaving the Philadelphia 76ers. His back injury did him in, undergoing two back surgeries in a span of three years.<\/p>\n The recovery probably took a toll on Simmons\u2019 psyche and confidence, but he was still able to make a roster. He played for the Brooklyn Nets<\/a> and Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> before taking a year off last season.<\/p>\n And after feeling better about his physical and mental health, Simmons is ready to prove his doubters wrong.<\/p>\n His contract is non-guaranteed, so he will have to fight for his roster spot at training camp.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJuan Paolo David<\/a> Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He’s currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 20: Ben Simmons #25 of the LA Clippers walks backcourt during a game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-906468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1920x1080-2026-08-20T213229.001.png\")
<\/a>GettyBen Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Washington Wizards<\/a> during the first half at Capital One Arena on December 5, 2019 in Washington, DC.\n<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1920x1080-2026-08-17T003455.290.png\")
<\/a>GettyBen Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball during Game Five of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors<\/a> at Scotiabank Arena on May 7, 2019 in Toronto, Canada.\n<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1920x1080-2026-08-17T003236.555.png\")
<\/a>GettyBen Simmons #10 of the Brooklyn Nets walks backcourt during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> at Fiserv Forum on December 26, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.\n<\/p>\n