The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly released guard Kobi Simmons, due to them needing to have a roster spot opened to complete a trade of Rodney Hood to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kobi Simmons did not have much time to prove himself with the Cleveland Cavaliers on his 10-day contract, and he was reportedly released today, as the team announced (h/t Cavs Nation’s Kenny Honaker) to complete a trade of Rodney Hood to the Portland Trail Blazers (which was initially reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski).
In that Hood trade to Portland, the Blazers sent guards Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin to the Cavs, along with two future second-round picks in 2021 and 2023, as Wojnarowski detailed. With Portland sending over two players and bringing back just the one in Hood, a roster spot had to open up for Cleveland, and Simmons was the odd man out.
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Simmons was only able to appear in one game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and played for nearly two minutes, per NBA.com. Honaker did highlight how Simmons has been able to have a key role on Cleveland’s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, this season, though.
"“In 32 appearances with Canton (31 starts), the 21-year-old point guard racked up averages of 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.2 minutes per outing.”"
This is not a surprising move by Cleveland, considering trading Hood and returning two draft picks is more of a priority for the organization. The two players that Cleveland received in the deal, the aforementioned Stauskas and Baldwin, are both on expiring contracts (per Spotrac), which is beneficial for the Cavaliers.
Jeff Siegel of SB Nation’s Fear The Sword added more in regards to the financial benefits from the trade for Cleveland (via Earlybirdrights.com).
"“The Cavaliers will get a traded player exception for the full amount of Hood’s salary, which they can use any time over the next calendar year to take on a player, or multiple players on smaller contracts, making up to $3.5 million.”"
That’s a nice plus for Cleveland general manager Koby Altman, who seems to have started off the time near the February 7 NBA trade deadline well.
Stauskas could be a solid spot-up threat for Cleveland, as he has averaged 6.1 points per game this year and is a respectable 34.4 percent three-point shooter that can provide spurts of good perimeter shooting. It’s unclear as to how Baldwin will contribute for the Cleveland Cavaliers, though.
He’s averaged 1.9 points and 0.8 assists in 5.9 minutes per game in 16 appearances this season for Portland, per Basketball Reference.
Nonetheless, as Honaker noted, if there’s no other NBA teams that bite in terms of Simmons’ services, “he’ll likely head back to Canton.”