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He's Baaaaaack: Ben Simmons Is Officially Back In The NBA After Signing A Deal To Join The Sacramento Kings

Luke Hales. Getty Images.

Remember Ben Simmons? The last we heard from him he was turning down a Knicks offer last summer to attend camp, left the NBA and then became an owner of a fishing league or something? I figured his NBA days were over given the whole being terrified to shoot thing in combination with his back injuries.

Then we got word that he was looking to get back into the mix this summer and well.......

He's back! And by the looks of that tweet, on a fully guaranteed minimum? The Kings don't have 15 players yet so unless the details further explain this is an Exhibit 10 deal for a camp try out, Ben Simmons is officially back in the NBA.

And let's be honest, OF COURSE it's the Kings. It was always going to be the Kings because this is exactly the type of shit the Kings would do. They were in the gym for his workout not too long ago and all the signs were there

Again, OF COURSE the Kings would be the latest team to fall victim to the Ben Simmons workout move. Of course he looks great in workouts! He's always looks great in workouts! That's part of the bit! I bet the Kings think he's going to be a 3pt shooter now too because if there's one thing Simmons loves to do in workouts, it's pretend like he's actually going to shoot. 

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There's just something very funny about the Kings of all teams being the ones to sign Ben Simmons. That front office very clearly has no idea what the hell they're doing. Just look at this roster

What even is that? Not to mention, there are already rumblings that Sabonis wants out, so what exactly is the plan here? I get that it doesn't really matter because it's the KANGZ, but still. That fanbase deserves better than whatever the hell continues to do on in Sacramento.

And while we joke about Simmons' return, there is a part of me that is somewhat rooting for him. If he's healthy and can prove to be a servicable player, that would be pretty cool I guess. All the shit he gets from Sixers fans, the disaster that was the Nets experience, flaming out with the Clippers despite showing some signs here and there

he's one of those players who "in theory" can be decent. His frame, his defense, the passing, if healthy all of those things are somewhat intriguing if you're a team that has nothing to lose like the Kings are. Is it fair to call it a low risk/high reward move? He won't have nearly the pressure as a King as he did in any of his previous stops, the media pressure won't be anything like Philly or New York or LA so that'll help as well. Who knows, maybe this works? Not in the sense that it makes the Kings good, but that Simmons can show he's still actually an NBA caliber player? If that's the case, then his free agency next summer might be interesting. 

But if we get to the season and he's still afraid to shoot and won't even take layups? It's going to be brutal for Simmons on these internet streets. I can't imagine he'd be coming back if that were the case, so I can't lie I am a bit intrigued to see how he looks.

As if there wasn't enough anticipation for the upcoming NBA season, now we get to add Ben Simmons to the mix? OK, maybe that was a little much. But you have to admit, it's going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out and unfortunately for Simmons he just put his eggs into the basket of a franchise that I'm pretty sure is cursed. He probably should have taken the camp invite from the Knicks last year instead, but oh well. Good luck!