Ben Simmons' Comeback: Draymond Green's Take on Sacramento Kings Signing

Draymond Green has seen enough broken bodies and fragile careers to know when a second chance matters. So when Ben Simmons resurfaced in the NBA with a one-year, $3.5 million deal from the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors forward didn’t just nod in approval. He lit up.

On the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show," the four-time champion made it clear: this return means something.

"Number one, I'm happy to see Ben Simmons back in the NBA," Green said, framing Simmons not as a cautionary tale, but as a rare talent worth fighting for. In Green’s eyes, players like Simmons — a 6-foot-10 guard with elite playmaking instincts — don’t just come and go. They’re outliers.

Simmons spent last season completely off the floor, an unrestricted free agent letting his body finally catch up with the damage done by persistent back issues dating back to his Philadelphia 76ers days. No games. No jersey. Just rehab, doubt, and the long grind of an offseason that started early and felt even longer.

This summer, though, he went to work.

Multiple workouts. Private sessions. Enough sweat and sharpness to convince the Kings to take a calculated gamble. Sacramento staff liked what they saw: movement, engagement, and a player who looked eager rather than hesitant. The result was the one-year deal that pulled him back into the league.

For Green, that’s the story behind the contract — a player battling through the kind of injury that doesn’t just slow your body, it clouds your mind.

"The injuries aren't always nice," Green said, pointing directly at the back problems that sidelined Simmons for the entire 2021-22 season and derailed what had once been an All-Star trajectory. He added that he’d spoken with Simmons and came away struck by something simple but significant: the excitement to play basketball again.

That word — excited — matters. Back injuries can be cruel. They sap explosiveness, yes, but they also chip away at confidence. Green hinted at that mental toll, noting how that kind of pain can drag down a player’s outlook as much as his stat line. Simmons has lived that spiral. Now he’s trying to climb out of it in Sacramento.

And in Green’s mind, the Kings are getting more than a reclamation project.

They’re getting a live lesson plan for their young core, starting with No. 7 pick Darius Acuff Jr.

"When I look at this signing, I think this is great for Darius Acuff," Green said. He sees Simmons as a bridge — a veteran who’s been praised, criticized, injured, and written off, yet still comes back ready to work. "You have a Ben Simmons who's eager to make it right, he's going to give you the game. And he's going to work his ass off."

That’s the part that intrigues Green the most. Not the highlight passes or the defensive versatility, but the mindset of a player trying to rewrite his narrative. Young guards like Acuff can study that up close: how Simmons reads the floor, how he defends multiple positions, how he handles the noise.

"Let's face it, Ben Simmons is Ben Simmons," Green added, a reminder that the name still carries weight around the league — good and bad.

That profile, Green argued, does something else for Acuff. It shields him. With Simmons back under the spotlight, a chunk of the fan and media attention shifts away from the rookie. The scrutiny that usually lands squarely on a top-10 pick in a passionate market like Sacramento will, at least for a while, orbit around the Australian star instead.

For a teenager trying to find his footing in the league, that buffer can be invaluable.

Sacramento, then, isn’t just betting on Simmons’ body holding up. The Kings are betting that his presence — his experience, his scars, his name — can shape the environment around their young talent.

Green clearly believes that’s a risk worth taking. The question now isn’t whether Ben Simmons can still play in the NBA. It’s how much his comeback can change the trajectory of a rookie guard and a franchise willing to give him one more shot.