The Sacramento Kings still want to pick up a backup point guard while adding length and athleticism in the frontcourt.

There’s one player who could check all of those boxes: Ben Simmons.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported the Kings and New York Knicks have shown interest in Simmons, a three-time All-Star who is available as an unrestricted free agent.

“For Ben Simmons, the two teams we’re hearing for him still are Sacramento and New York,” Fischer said. “We are still anticipating the Kings to be bringing in another veteran guard, and Ben Simmons is on that list of potential targets in addition to Russell Westbrook, to Malcolm Brogdon.”

Simmons, 28, can likely be signed at or near the veteran minimum of $3.3 million. He would be an interesting fit in Sacramento as a 6-foot-10 guard/forward who can pass, rebound and defend any position. His size, defensive versatility and playmaking ability would allow Simmons to contribute at multiple positions while improving the team’s length, athleticism and defense.

Simmons would give the Kings a capable backup for point guard Dennis Schroder, who recently came to Sacramento in a sign-and-trade deal with the Detroit Pistons. Simmons could also be useful in a frontcourt that features DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.

The biggest question marks would be Simmons’ shooting ability and availability. He is a 55.8% career shooter, but he is mostly limited to scoring around the basket with just 36 3-point attempts in 383 games over seven NBA seasons.

Simmons has been plagued by injuries since coming out of LSU as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Over the past three seasons, he has appeared in 42, 15 and 51 games, but when healthy he can contribute in a variety of ways.

Simmons has career averages of 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and made three All-Star appearances from 2019-21. He was an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection in 2020 and 2021, finishing fourth and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Simmons played a total of 51 games for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angels Clippers last season. He averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks in 22.0 minutes per game.