Scott Perry on Ben Simmons, Darius Acuff and Kings’ Direction

Kings GM Scott Perry joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross to discuss Ben Simmons, Darius Acuff Jr. and Sacramento’s outlook.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sep 25, 2026, 3:09 PM

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Watch: Scott Perry Explains Why The Kings Believe In A Ben Simmons Comeback | 24 mins

Sacramento Kings media day is set for Monday, but general manager Scott Perry offered an early look at several of the biggest storylines surrounding the team entering the 2026-27 season.

Perry joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Sactown Sports Friday morning to discuss Ben Simmons, Darius Acuff Jr., Doug Christie, and what he expects from a Kings roster entering the year with relatively low outside expectations.

As probably their biggest offseason addition, Simmons was the first topic of conversation.

Perry said members of the Kings organization received positive reports while Simmons was working with the Australian national team earlier in the summer. That eventually led Perry to drive to Miami to watch Simmons work out and spend time talking with him.

“He said, ‘Hey, Scott, this is the first time I’ve been healthy in two years,’” Perry said. More importantly, Simmons told Perry he missed playing basketball, competing, and being part of a team.

“That made a great impression on me,” Perry said.

Perry also saw encouraging signs physically, saying Simmons displayed some of the “lift and pop” that were on display during his best years in Philadelphia. Sacramento will remain patient with the 30-year-old after his extended time away from the game, but Perry believes Simmons’ versatility can help the Kings in multiple areas.

He confirmed Sacramento is/was looking for someone who can provide backup point guard minutes.

“He is definitely going to be capable of doing that as long as he stays healthy,” Perry said.

The Kings are also preparing to give rookie Darius Acuff Jr. significant responsibility. Perry repeatedly emphasized Acuff’s age at just 19 and cautioned that the young guard will inevitably have difficult stretches during his first NBA season.

Still, Sacramento clearly believes it has potential as a future centerpiece and long-term building block.

“There’ll be a lot of responsibility coming his way, but we’re not going to put everything on his shoulders as a rookie player,” Perry said.

While Acuff’s scoring ability received plenty of attention leading into the draft, Perry also believes his playmaking is underrated and expects him to eventually become a capable team defender.

Shifting to head coach Doug Christie, Perry emphasized a similar mindset as he enters his second season leading the team. Last year was a tough evaluation period given the ridiculous amount of injuries to key players they had to overcome.

“I’m expecting more experience from him this year in terms of what he’s learned from last year, to have more presence in the position,” Perry said.

As for expectations surrounding the team itself, Perry dismissed preseason rankings and instead pointed toward Sacramento’s depth, versatility and health as reasons the Kings believe they can improve throughout the season.

“I like the depth of this team,” Perry said. “I think we have a deep roster and a lot of interchangeable parts.”

Perry added that one goal is certainly to “prove the doubters wrong” after a difficult 2025-26 season.

Exactly what that looks like will begin becoming clearer next week as the Kings hold media day Monday before opening training camp, beginning the second full season of Perry and Christie leading Sacramento.