Yes he would have. I'm pretty sure that you and I have had this exact conversation before, but Dedmon would have required the MLE to sign regardless of what Pau got, and that MLE is what it took to sign Gay.
Also Simmons sucks, and he sucked even with the Spurs. I wouldn't have wanted him back for what Forbes got, let alone twice that like Orlando offered him.
EDIT: This is a comparison between Simmons (last year, since apparently the wrist injury is why he sucks this year) versus Forbes, Cun and Anderson from this year:
https://www.basketball-reference.com...erky01&y4=2019
Jon's easily the worst guy in the bunch.