What Ben Simmons told Steve Kerr, Steph Curry after Warriors passed on him
What Ben Simmons told Steve Kerr, Steph Curry after Warriors passed on him originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Ben Simmons won’t appear in a game for the Kings this NBA season, but he still managed to deliver some good-natured trash talk to one of their Western Conference rivals.
Simmons revealed his preseason exchanges with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and star Steph Curry in an interview with Andscape’s Marc Spears published Thursday that detailed the beginning of Simmons’ recovery from a torn right Achilles tendon.
The Warriors were interested in Simmons’ services before the former No. 1 overall pick eventually inked a contract with Sacramento this offseason, Spears reported, citing a source, but apparently not interested enough to send a representative to Simmons’ August workout in Miami.
The 30-year-old Simmons last played for the Los Angeles Clippers, at the end of the 2024-25 NBA season, before going unsigned for the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign due to lingering back injuries.
“I said something to Steve [Kerr],” Simmons told Spears regarding Golden State’s Oct. 10 preseason game against the Kings. “I said, ‘Y’all didn’t want me?’ That was in the first quarter. And [Kerr] said, ‘I didn’t know if you were healthy.’
“And I was like, ‘OK. That’s why you have people that do their job and go fly out and see.’ But it is what it is. That’s just me being competitive. It wasn’t personal.”
Simmons also relayed to Spears his brief interaction with Curry the same day.
“I probably just told Steph, ‘I told you. I’m ready.’” Simmons said.
The Kings bet on Simmons’ talent to provide veteran production this offseason, signing him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal in September after attending the August workout, the only NBA team to do so.
At first, the move looked brilliant. Simmons impressed in his two preseason games with the Kings and appeared as though he’d flawlessly fill the role Sacramento envisioned for him as a starter and captain.
Then came Oct. 18, and a season-ending torn right Achilles suffered in a practice drill. Now, rehabbing in Sacramento, Simmons says he is more determined than ever to step back on an NBA floor.
“My mentality is that I’ll be back,” Simmons told Spears from his home on Tuesday. “I’ll do everything in my power to get back, get healthy and be better than I was before. There is nothing but time and opportunity to do so. So, I’m going to attack it the way I am now.”
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