The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly signed guard Kobi Simmons to a 10-day contract today, and hope he can provide some scoring for the bench.
Guard Kobi Simmons is the next player the Cleveland Cavaliers will be giving a shot at proving himself this season. The 10-day contract reportedly given to Simmons today (as was announced by general manager Koby Altman, h/t the Cleveland Cavaliers) is a reasonable move, and it comes shortly after Cleveland reportedly did not sign Cameron Payne through the rest of the season (h/t The Athletic’s Joe Vardon).
Simmons was initially on the Cavaliers’ training camp roster before the season, in which he appeared in four preseason games. Those games are not the easiest ways for a player to prove themselves, and Simmons didn’t show much to warrant an opening night roster spot following that stretch.
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However, he’s shown some good things with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, this year.
In 30 games in the 2018-19 G League season, Simmons has posted averages of 17.0 points on 51.3 percent true shooting, to go with 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, per Basketball Reference’s G League statistics.
Simmons, as the Cavs noted, “spent last season as a Two-Way player with the Memphis Grizzlies, playing in 32 contests (12 starts) and averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 assists in 20.1 minutes per game for the Grizzlies in 2017-18.”
The 21-year-old fits the player development approach Cleveland is reportedly now having in the near future, and it’s unclear whether or not he’ll get the same minutes-share Payne received (19.6 minutes per game, per NBA.com) in Payne’s two 10-day stints recently with the Cavaliers.
Granted, Payne is a scoring point guard, though, and Simmons is a scoring playmaker, so maybe the Cavs will allow Simmons to bring the ball up in spurts and play Matthew Dellavedova in more of an off-ball role at times.
I would expect Simmons to be aggressive in his minutes on the floor; he can provide some solid mid-range shooting off the bounce, and should get some open looks from Delly and potentially Larry Nance Jr.‘s vision.
Simmons’ three-point rate of only 25.7 percent (per Basketball Reference’s G League Stats) is fairly low, and he’s only shot 26.5 percent this G League season from three-point land, so it’s unclear how he’ll do as a catch-and-shoot player in his minutes, but I would think he’ll definitely have his chances.
We’ll see how much Simmons can contribute in the coming weeks.