Perry travelled to Florida this week to run the rule over the 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick, Sactown Sports first reported and Sportando confirmed the following day.
Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave, who broke the story, urged listeners to keep their expectations in check.
“I would say these two words: guarded optimism,” he said on air. “It’s a workout, guys. Calm down, everyone.”
Simmons has been rebuilding at a training facility in Miami alongside fellow free-agent guard Victor Oladipo, who is also on Sacramento’s radar. He last played in the NBA in the 2024-25 season, appearing in 18 games for the Los Angeles Clippers before sitting out all of 2025-26 to recover from back trouble.
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A blunt line at the Boomers camp
The Florida workout followed a spell in Melbourne, where Simmons was a full participant at a player-led Australian national team minicamp that opened on 10 August. He paid his own way to attend and took part with no restrictions, organisers said.
Asked by Australia’s Channel 9 why he had turned up, Simmons was blunt.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m here. It’s a long way to fly just to not do it.”
His godfather David Patrick, an assistant coach with the Boomers, told Yahoo Sports that Simmons had “regained his athleticism” and looked closer to full fitness than he had in years.
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From the top of the draft to the veteran minimum
Simmons was picked first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016 and made three All-Star teams before a public falling-out with the franchise. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022 in the deal that sent James Harden the other way, and later moved on to the Clippers.
Injuries and a well-documented reluctance to shoot from range have kept him from resembling the player he was in Philadelphia. He has not appeared in more than 60 games in a season since 2018-19.
Where Sacramento fits
The Kings’ interest is real but far from decisive. Sacramento holds 13 standard contracts, sits about $5.34m below the luxury tax line, and needs to add at least one more player to reach the NBA’s 14-player minimum, Hoops Rumors reports.
The front office is weighing Simmons and Oladipo alongside Gabe Vincent, Cameron Payne and Elfrid Payton, with the specific brief of finding a veteran point guard to back up and mentor Darius Acuff Jr., the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft.
Simmons is willing to sign for the veteran minimum. The only offer previously reported in public is a non-guaranteed training camp invitation from an unnamed Western Conference team.
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