The three NBA teams that should sign Ben Simmons for the 2026-27 NBA season

With Simmons 100% healthy and remaining in shape with the Australian national team camp, multiple NBA teams are reportedly eyeing the 30-year-old four-time All-Star as a potential late-summer signing.

Let’s take a look at the best destinations for Simmons heading into next season, as the 6’9″ guard/forward, who’s averaged 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.5 steals over his career, looks to return as an impact defender with elite playmaking ability.

Los Angeles Lakers

Simmons is reportedly being courted by just one Western Conference team at the moment. If that’s true, the likely team might be the Lakers, who are aggressively looking to add to their frontcourt depth after overextending their resources on guards and acquiring Walker Kessler.

If the Lakers ultimately strike out on acquiring Jonathan Kuminga, they could pivot to Simmons to have a veteran frontcourt presence who will be an aggressive rebounder and do-it-all defender.

There are problems with this acquisition, mainly with regard to how Simmons’ impact can be any different than the role they already have Jarred Vanderbilt in.

But Simmons, as a secondary playmaker and athletic pick-and-roll partner for Luka Doncic, might have a lot more upside with his short-roll passing than what Vanderbilt has done in his Lakers tenure.

With the Lakers already overcommitting to Doncic and Austin Reaves being heliocentric offensive engines, Simmons could be a useful addition in augmenting their play.

Being a non-shooter always comes with its drawbacks, but the Lakers might have the offensive infrastructure to maximize Simmons’ strengths.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns have been assembled as an incredibly aggressive win-now unit despite multiple trade missteps and an empty asset cabinet. They are also capped out with an expensive roster, so to avoid another Play-In appearance and first-round exit, the franchise needs to do something else to remain competitive.

Signing Simmons as a backup frontcourt option would be a great move for the Suns, who have built a roster that heavily focuses on scoring and three-and-D guards.

Simmons can be used as a playmaking savant at the point to reduce Devin Booker’s playmaking responsibilities, or at the three with Booker, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams to reinforce this lineup defensively.

His best application will be as a backup four behind Bridges, who could share the floor with Booker in his limited minutes and allow Booker to play his natural role as a scoring guard rather than the one setting up his teammates. Colin Gillespie’s been great, but Simmons’ playmaking was among the best in the NBA in his prime.

Simmons’ ability to play multiple positions and attack some of Phoenix’s biggest flaws (versatile defenders with size, playmaking) makes him a very enticing prospect for the Suns.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are the NBA’s only second-apron team heading into the 2026-27 season, with the franchise desperately looking for bargains everywhere they go.

The fate of Peyton Watson remains undecided, so the Nuggets might need to scramble to find a defender of that caliber to add to their frontcourt.

Simmons can’t replicate Watson’s outside shooting ability, but he could boost the Nuggets’ rotational depth as a versatile defender who can cover for Nikola Jokic on that end and serve as a backup playmaker with all shooters around him.

Simmons can lighten Jokic’s playmaking load as well as Aaron Gordon’s defensive load, making him a very useful piece for a team as asset-strapped as the Nuggets.

Ideally, they bring Watson back and use Simmons as part of a four-man forward core with Watson, Gordon, and Spencer Jones, covering the team on both ends of the court.

The Nuggets need to target big swings with their remaining moves, and acquiring a 100% healthy Simmons, a former Defensive Player of the Year finalist, might be the one with the most potential.