Should the Heat have taken a flyer on Ben Simmons, who agreed to a contract with the Kings this week? Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn’t believe so. Winderman opines that Simmons, who was out of the league last season and ineffective and/0r injured in previous campaigns, is an unknown quantity at this point. The Heat are in a win-now mode, which would have made Simmons a bad fit on their roster, while the Kings are rebuilding and can afford to take a chance that Simmons can regain some of the form he displayed earlier in his career.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

• The Hornets had an eventful offseason, trading away former franchise player LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. ESPN’s Insiders made their projections on the new-look Hornets, anticipating that coach Charles Lee will need to take a by-committee approach to replacing Ball, who averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 assists while posting a 32.0 usage rate. Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel will likely pick up the bulk of the scoring slack, supported by Coby White and recently-acquired Dennis Schroder.
• Meanwhile, the Magic had a relatively quiet offseason, except for a head coaching change. ESPN’s Insiders believe the team’s X factor will be guard Jalen Suggs, who has struggled to stay on the court. Suggs’ 57 games last season were the second-most in his career. It’s also noted that Suggs’ 3-point shooting has dropped off the last two seasons and he needs to turn that around.
• The Magic and Gray Media have announced a partnership to telecast approximately 70 regular-season games for viewers in Gainesville, Panama City and Tallahassee this season, according to a team press release. All regular-season games, excluding nationally-televised games, will be broadcast over-the-air on WTGB 34.3 in Gainesville, WJHG 7.6 in Panama City, and WCTV 6.3 in Tallahassee.