Report: Cavs sign Kobi Simmons to one-year deal
The Cleveland Cavaliers have just signed former Memphis Grizzlies guard Kobi Simmons.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Cleveland Cavaliers are signing point guard Kobi Simmons to a one-year deal.
Sources: Guard Kobi Simmons is signing a one-year deal with the Cavaliers. Simmons was recently released from two-way deal with Memphis.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2018
Simmons, a two-way signing for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, reportedly worked out for the Cavs last week.
An extremely athletic player, at 6-foot-5 Simmons will be physical mismatch for most players at his position. Enhancing the advantages he already has physically is an advanced ball-handling package, which has it’s obvious benefits to a slasher like Simmons.
At 21-years-old and just three seasons removed from high school, as he was a freshman at the University of Arizona (Channing Frye’s alma mater, I might add) in the 2016-2017 season, Simmons definitely has a lot of development ahead.
Physically, though he’s 6-foot-5, he’s only 166 pounds; adding muscle so that he can run and finish through contact more effectively is a must. As a point guard, Simmons’ scoring-minded nature must be tempered with a desire to set up his teammates.
Simmons averaged 3.0 assists per 36 minutes in college and 3.6 assists per 36 minutes for the Grizzlies last season.
He averaged 3.9 assists (and 15.1 points) in 30.9 minutes per game in the NBA G-League though. Furthermore, 5 of Simmons’ 12 starts for Memphis last season, he’s had at least 4 assists.
That said, he’s already been showing growth in that area, using his slashing ability and growing court vision to set up teammates. For a lot of people, in any profession, experience is the best teacher. That seems to hold true for Simmons too.
Simmons won’t come to the Cavs training camp with any guarantees though. The Cleveland Cavaliers already have 15 players signed to the roster, not including their two-way signings in John Holland and Billy Preston or Isaac Hamilton and Scoochie Smith, who were signed to Exhibit 10 deals.
Simmons will be battling with Smith and Isaiah Taylor, who signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Cavs last month, in training camp for the third point guard spot on the roster.
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*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com