Miami Heat's Pursuit of Ben Simmons: A Calculated Risk
The Miami Heat have spent the past week methodically filling holes.
Shooting? Klay Thompson.
Size? Nick Richards.
One need still blinks red on the depth chart.
Who actually runs the offense when Davion Mitchell takes a seat?
Mitchell is penciled in as the starting point guard, but behind him the picture gets blurry fast. Dru Smith can soak up minutes, yet he’s more safety net than solution. Tim Hardaway Jr., Thompson and Pelle Larsson all tilt naturally toward off-ball roles. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo can initiate plenty from the frontcourt, but Miami still lacks another steady hand to organize possessions from the perimeter.
That’s where Ben Simmons suddenly becomes more than a curiosity. He becomes a question worth asking.
A Gamble That Fits Miami’s DNA
Simmons, 30, is in the middle of an attempted NBA comeback after sitting out last season. Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry flew to Florida this week to watch the former No. 1 pick work out, according to Sactown Sports 1140’s Carmichael Dave. The radio host later relayed that someone in the gym said Simmons “looked fantastic.”
That kind of report will get attention around the league. In Miami, it should trigger a meeting.
For the Heat, a veteran-minimum deal is not a wild swing. It’s the sort of calculated risk that has quietly shaped their roster for years. Low cost, specific role, clear upside.
Miami doesn’t need the three-time All-Star version of Simmons who once terrorized defenses in Philadelphia. That player is gone, and expecting him back would be a mistake.
The Heat need something more modest, and more realistic.
They need him to defend. To rebound. To create.
Not a Traditional Point Guard, Still a Unique One
At 6-foot-10, Simmons remains one of the strangest – and potentially most useful – playmakers available. In his last NBA season, 2024-25, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds over 51 games split between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
The scoring never recovered. The passing instincts never left.
His limitations are well-known. Teams ignore him on the perimeter, and lineups built without enough shooting around him can suffocate their own spacing. Put Simmons on the floor with Antetokounmpo and Adebayo for long stretches and the paint starts to feel crowded, no matter how clever Erik Spoelstra’s sets are.
But the Heat have changed the math.
Thompson brings one of the purest jumpers the league has ever seen. Hardaway, Andrew Wiggins and Simone Fontecchio give Spoelstra a range of perimeter threats to orbit around the stars. Richards provides a true backup center behind Adebayo, which means Simmons doesn’t have to moonlight as a small-ball 5 just to justify his presence.
Used correctly, he doesn’t have to be a traditional point guard at all.
He can be a second-unit initiator. A point forward. A switchable defender who turns dead possessions into transition chances. The guy who keeps the offense coherent when Mitchell is on the bench and the ball might otherwise drift.
That role still sits vacant.
Richards Signed, Priorities Shift
Richards’ arrival quietly altered Miami’s to-do list.
Before the deal, the Heat were expected to use their 14th roster spot on another big man. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that Miami wanted a power forward or center, with Richards high on the list of options.
That box is checked now.
With one roster spot left, the calculus changes. The frontcourt around Antetokounmpo and Adebayo is deeper. Thompson has added championship pedigree and gravity from beyond the arc. The structure is there.
What’s missing is another player who can take the ball, call a set, and create something when the first action dies.
That’s the gap Simmons walks into.
Risk, Reality and Opportunity
None of this erases the risk. Back problems derailed Simmons’ career and kept him off the floor entirely last season. He told Men’s Health that nerve pain pushed him to step away before he began this latest comeback attempt.
Those are not minor concerns for a player whose game leans on mobility, physicality and defensive versatility.
There’s also competition. If his Florida workout really did impress, Sacramento has a clear need: veteran point-guard help behind rookie Darius Acuff Jr. The Kings can dangle a more direct path to minutes and perhaps a larger role.
Miami’s pitch is different.
A defined supporting job on a contender. A coaching staff that has built a reputation on finding value in players other teams gave up on. A roster that, after adding Richards, can afford to take a targeted gamble instead of scrambling for size.
For the veteran minimum, Simmons offers a rare blend of length, defense and playmaking at a position of need. The Heat don’t have to bet the franchise on him.
They just have to decide whether his comeback is the right kind of risk for a team that suddenly looks one reliable ball-handler short of something dangerous.
