After missing out on former NBA Defensive Player Marcus Smart, the Phoenix Suns have turned their focus on former No. 1 pick Ben Simmons.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Suns have joined the growing list of suitors for Simmons.
“League sources say that the Suns have also had some recent dialogue with former All-Star Ben Simmons, who I’m told has drawn interest since free agency began from Boston, New York and Sacramento,” Stein wrote on his Substack newsletter “The Stein Line” on July 20.
The New York Knicks were one of the early teams who registered interest in Simmons and remain interested, according to Steins’ colleague Jake Fischer.
“The two teams that we can report on that have ongoing interest in Ben Simmons are Sacramento and New York. That’s the last word we got as we’re leaving Las Vegas,” Fischer said on his “Insider Notebook” livestreamed on Bleacher Report on July 17. “So, generally speaking, the Kings are still a player in the veteran guard market, and you can absolutely put Ben Simmons in that conversation, even though he’s obviously more of a hybrid player than Malcolm Brogdon, than [Russel] Westbrook, than Chris Paul.”
That was before the Suns joined the fray.
Freshed off their Bradley Beal waive-and-stretch move that will incur $20 million of dead money in each of the next five seasons for the salary they owe to the former All-Star guard, the Suns have gained instant flexibility to restructure their roster.
They can offer Simmons more than the veteran minimum, which teams like the Knicks and Celtics are limited to spend. On top of that, they can offer a major role for Simmons after the departure of Beal and Kevin Durant.
Ben Simmons Looking to Bounce Back
Getty Ben Simmons eyes redemption season.
Simmons is taking his time deciding where to play next after his failed stint with the Los Angeles Clippers following his buyout with the Brooklyn Nets.
Simmons signed a $1.08 million deal with the Clippers after reaching a buyout with the Nets for the remaining portion of his five-year, $170 million rookie extension contract he originally signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 6-foot-10 Simmons has fallen off the cliff since he left Philadelphia over mental health and mysterious back issues. His once promising career went south in Brooklyn.
Last season, he averaged 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists in his final 33 games in Brooklyn. He only played 17 games for the Clippers and was an afterthought, averaging career-lows 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Only 29, still in his prime years, Simmons eyes a bounce-back season.
Ben Simmons is More Realistic Suns’ Target
Simmons is the more realistic offseason target for the Suns, who have also registered their interest in Golden State Warriors‘ 22-year-old forward Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent, according to Fischer.
“Sources say Phoenix, meanwhile, is the latest team to express exploratory interest in a Kuminga sign-and-trade … challenging as it would be for the Suns to make such a deal happen,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter on July 17.
The Suns have reached out to both Kuminga’s representation and the Warriors “to make their fondness for the bouncy swingman known,” according to Fischer.
However, no deal is imminent as the Suns face major challenges in a potential sign-and-trade for the Warriors’ former No. 7 pick.
“The Suns, to be clear, do not appear to possess the sort of draft capital or players that Golden State is believed to be seeking in exchange for Kuminga,” Fischer wrote.
They have two first-round picks in 2027 and 2029, but they are not their own unprotected, which is why they hold little value around the league.
The 2027 first-rounder will be the least favorable from the group consisting of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Utah Jazz. On the other hand, the 2029 first-round pick from the same group of teams (Cleveland, Minnesota, and Utah).
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