BBallbreakdown: Can Jonathon Simmons add depth to the Spurs bench?

[SAGirl]

Short answer? Yes!! but he needs to develop in several areas. Here is an article I found by pure accident on our Spur Simmons. http://bballbreakdown.com/2015/07/24...o-spurs-depth/

I am sharing it bc in bballbreakdown, they just feature writers who, whether you agree with them or not, do know their basketball. Many things are mentioned, from the good to the bad, his athleticism and quick first step, shaky ballhandling and questionable passing (apparently from Pop, the answer is that yes, he can find other options if the first ones are taken away). Also, his inconsistent shooting, preferring apparently to shoot off the dribble than in catch and shoot situations. Many of the issues discussed there we have already discussed ad nauseum but if you find yourself with time, or didn't read through pages of discussion about Simmons, its a good read.

An excerpt about his defense:

Simmons has all the physical tools of a NBA defender. At 6’6″ with a 6’8” wingspan and the ability to stay in front of dribble penetration and challenge shots, he can match up with most wing players–though alongside Ginobili he might be slightly undersized against larger small forwards.He’s a hard worker defensively but needs to improve his fundamentals before the coaching staff can trust him, especially his footwork in closing out to shooters. He has a tendency to not close out under control, which prevents him from breaking down to a stop and keeps him off balance, allowing players to drive by him easily.
It will take some time learning the rotations of the Spurs defense, though he should have some familiarity with it with the Austin Spurs running the same system. If he can leverage his athletic tools with some improved fundamentals, he could turn into a solid defensive player for the second unit.

[SAGirl]

An article from mysanantonio.com about him summarizes Pop's comments about him, and has snippets of an interview with him about his passing:

With the Big 3, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Patty Mills and now LaMarcus Aldridge and David West added to the mix, the Spurs aren’t in dire need of scoring. Knowing this, Simmons knew he needed to let another part of his game shine, and is doing so with passing and defense.“This is a team where passing is most important and finding the open guy,” said Simmons. “Just like I’ve done in the past, just thrive on finding gaps – sort of like what LeBron does. … I just know that’s a plus here with guys that can shoot the ball well, so I just try and find the open guy as much as I can.”
Those LeBron-like passes – Simmons also studied Chris Paul – is what Popovich is finding most impressive. He said Simmons’ ability to see things develop is a gift that even he couldn’t teach.
Said Popovich: “He sees things; the second or third iteration. You can see the first guy that’s open, but sometimes he sees something else developing on the floor. That’s hard to coach. I don’t know if you can coach it. It’s just a natural affinity for that part of the game, and he has that.”
Told of Popovich’s admiration, Simmons explained why he’s able to thrive so far in training camp.
“It’s pretty much spot basketball in this system,” said Simmons, who credited his knowledge of the Spurs’ offensive system to time spent in Austin. “You know where guys are going to be at, so I’m thinking ahead of the defender, knowing that if I make this drive, I know my guy is supposed to be right there.”

You can find this one here: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...n-on-popovich/

[Chinook]

Good articles. Thanks for posting.

The main question with Simmons is whether or not he will be able to develop. Obviously the talent is there, but the he's raw. At 26, his upside may be limited. I wonder if he would be an NBA player now if someone had picked him up during or immediately after the 2012 draft. , he would have been a better pick than Marcus Denmon.

I'm obviously excited to see Simmons and Anderson both them competing against each other for that final rotation spot and working together as part of a Manu-less second unit.

[BillMc]

Nice posts OP. I, like you, find the contrast between BBall and Pop in the evaluation of Jonathon's passing ability a good sign. It means that that Simmons is either still developing or, when given the opportunity, is showing aspects of his game previously unseen. Either or both are good news. We should get some glimpse tomorrow in Sacramento. It will also be interesting to see if Simmons guards Marco and if he can affect him on defense.

[RD2191]

OP is a got.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Simmons has no weakness in his game.
He's average to above average at everything.

He's going to be the next unknown breakout spur

[random21]

Simmons from what I have observed:
*The guy can dribble/slash to the basket for a nice layup or short shot and
*Dribble and pass off to the 3 point line
*Has a nice first step
I am sure we are going to see a lot of him in the preseason....

[ElNono]

Said Popovich: “He sees things; the second or third iteration. You can see the first guy that’s open, but sometimes he sees something else developing on the floor. That’s hard to coach. I don’t know if you can coach it. It’s just a natural affinity for that part of the game, and he has that.”

Damn, there goes any hope of Pop transforming Enrique's game...

/blue

[exstatic]

Simmons has no weakness in his game.
He's average to above average at everything.

He's going to be the next unknown breakout spur

I like Simmons potential, but he's real sloppy and careless with the ball, and prone to turnovers.

[KL2]

Simmons is a late bloomer. He played 2/3 of his basketball career at community colleges, played 1 year of div. 1 ball, then declared for the draft. He's had very little coaching so I don't think he's peaked at all yet & has a lot of room for improvement.

He's also gained a bit of weight since his collegiate days, he was 195 in his final year, but is up to 204+. He'll ultimately have to move up to around 210-215 in order to consistently guard bigger forwards, but for now he can probably help the Spurs guard those quick SG's & PG's like Joseph did last year.

I'm rooting for this guy, he's a jack of all trades type player, once polished he can be a quality role player. He's raw but doesn't look bad at all, just a couple of tweaks to his game here and there should make a huge difference, his flaws all look correctable.

[SAGirl]

Yes, I think he can be a good roleplayer, obviously his age limits his ceiling, but he can improve on fundamentals and such. One thing I observed in SL that is not mentioned in these articles is that he tends to ball-watch a lot while defending off-ball, allowing his men to beat him on backcuts and such, but obviously the potential is there to be good defensively and his deficiencies are correctable. We'll see how he does with ballhandling, bc of his age we don't know whether he can improve that or not.

[Ice009]

hmm, I don't like this line from the Express News Article : "He wouldn’t elaborate on the future, instead putting all his energy into the present and the goal of doing everything he could each day in hopes of making the final roster" http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...n-on-popovich/

Is his actual spot on the roster in question? I thought for sure with the first year being fully guaranteed that he's playing for a rotation spot rather than a roster spot. Obviously, if he was really, really bad they could still cut or waive him during training camp/preseason as it's one of the cheaper contracts on the team, but still, I didn't think he'd be in danger of getting cut from the actual roster this early during preseason.

I like Simmons potential, but he's real sloppy and careless with the ball, and prone to turnovers.

So was Stephen Jackson. You can't teach some of what Simmons has. Great athleticism, very good passing instincts. On top of that he seems very willing to play defense. All huge positives IMO.

I hope he can improve his defensive fundamentals, ball handling and shooting to be part of the roster and rotation.

[SpursFan86]

hmm, I don't like this line from the Express News Article : "He wouldn’t elaborate on the future, instead putting all his energy into the present and the goal of doing everything he could each day in hopes of making the final roster" http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...n-on-popovich/

Is his actual spot on the roster in question? I thought for sure with the first year being fully guaranteed that he's playing for a rotation spot rather than a roster spot. Obviously, if he was really, really bad they could still cut or waive him during training camp/preseason as it's one of the cheaper contracts on the team, but still, I didn't think he'd be in danger of getting cut from the actual roster this early during preseason.

Or you can look at it as him not just assuming he'll make the team, and wanting to make sure he works his ass off to prove he belongs.

[SAGirl]

hmm, I don't like this line from the Express News Article : "He wouldn’t elaborate on the future, instead putting all his energy into the present and the goal of doing everything he could each day in hopes of making the final roster" http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...n-on-popovich/

Is his actual spot on the roster in question? I thought for sure with the first year being fully guaranteed that he's playing for a rotation spot rather than a roster spot. Obviously, if he was really, really bad they could still cut or waive him during training camp/preseason as it's one of the cheaper contracts on the team, but still, I didn't think he'd be in danger of getting cut from the actual roster this early during preseason.



So was Stephen Jackson. You can't teach some of what Simmons has. Great athleticism, very good passing instincts. On top of that he seems very willing to play defense. All huge positives IMO.

I hope he can improve his ball handling and shooting enough to be part of the roster and rotation.

I don't know,you know these reporters can give their personal perceptions get through. All Pop said was he still needs to earn his spot. Of Butler, Pop said he has shot well and has a chance to make the team, of Jimmer Pop said they wanted to see him do other things beyond just shoot well. Seems like they wanted to see other things from Simmons beyond just getting to the rack and dunk. I would not read to much into it, he does have more potential than these two and they need wing depth.

[Kool Bob Love]

dont get me wrong, but i think jonno has so much untapped potential then say danny green

u can see the drive in his eyes and the will to compete...

he already can finish at the rim and euro step, just needs to work on his stroke and defense...no problem with range, just improve that stroke and his money in my eyes...

I wish you were this honest about MVPARKER.

[Dingle Barry]

hmm, I don't like this line from the Express News Article : "He wouldn’t elaborate on the future, instead putting all his energy into the present and the goal of doing everything he could each day in hopes of making the final roster" http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...n-on-popovich/

Is his actual spot on the roster in question? I thought for sure with the first year being fully guaranteed that he's playing for a rotation spot rather than a roster spot. Obviously, if he was really, really bad they could still cut or waive him during training camp/preseason as it's one of the cheaper contracts on the team, but still, I didn't think he'd be in danger of getting cut from the actual roster this early during preseason.



So was Stephen Jackson. You can't teach some of what Simmons has. Great athleticism, very good passing instincts. On top of that he seems very willing to play defense. All huge positives IMO.

I hope he can improve his defensive fundamentals, ball handling and shooting to be part of the roster and rotation.

No it's not in question, but nothing is just given to you.

[Kawhitstorm]

Yes, I think he can be a good roleplayer, obviously his age limits his ceiling, but he can improve on fundamentals and such. One thing I observed in SL that is not mentioned in these articles is that he tends to ball-watch a lot while defending off-ball, allowing his men to beat him on backcuts and such, but obviously the potential is there to be good defensively and his deficiencies are correctable. We'll see how he does with ballhandling, bc of his age we don't know whether he can improve that or not.

He and Iman Shumpert are about the same age & Shumpert isn't really that much more talented than Simmons, maybe a bit more polished as a point guard. Shumpert is still a raw talent who was drafted based on his elite athleticism & has only really played about a 100 NBA quality games. Shumpert ended up getting a 4yr 40 million contract from the Cavs after he found a niche as a perimeter defender but dude has the same habit of ball watching as Simmons which was exposed in the Finals.

All I'm trying to say is that it would really take detailed scouting & execution to expose role players who have flaws in their game so I wouldn't be worried too much about his ball watching habits especially considering he's a raw/project talent.

[ceperez]

He and Iman Shumpert are about the same age & Shumpert isn't really that much more talented than Simmons, maybe a bit more polished as a point guard. Shumpert is still a raw talent who was drafted based on his elite athleticism & has only really played about a 100 NBA quality games. Shumpert ended up getting a 4yr 40 million contract from the Cavs after he found a niche as a perimeter defender but dude has the same habit of ball watching as Simmons which was exposed in the Finals.

All I'm trying to say is that it would really take detailed scouting & execution to expose role players who have flaws in their game so I wouldn't be worried too much about his ball watching habits especially considering he's a raw/project talent.

In terms of athleticism and size their are equivalent. Shumpert has shown really good one-on-one defense, but I haven't seen him pass well. Also don't think Shumpert has high BB-IQ. Shumpert outside shot is good but not elite. I got no idea how good or bad Simmons outside is at this stage.

[Chinook]

Is his actual spot on the roster in question? I thought for sure with the first year being fully guaranteed that he's playing for a rotation spot rather than a roster spot. Obviously, if he was really, really bad they could still cut or waive him during training camp/preseason as it's one of the cheaper contracts on the team, but still, I didn't think he'd be in danger of getting cut from the actual roster this early during preseason.

Or you can look at it as him not just assuming he'll make the team, and wanting to make sure he works his ass off to prove he belongs.

No it's not in question, but nothing is just given to you.

Simmons' contract makes him just as vulnerable as Jimmer or Bonner. I'm pretty sure his $525k is the smallest of the three guarantees. If you assume the Spurs would be willing to eat either of those contracts, then the same applies to Simmons. Plus, as I've said many times before, he's likely to get claimed like Malcolm Thomas was. So it's not as simple as the Spurs eating his first year if they don't like him.

That being said, he is intriguing enough that they'd probably give him more than a camp to get acclimated even if he struggles. They say it takes a year to get used to the Spurs' system. I doubt they envisioned him balling out against the regular rotation of a perennial contender. I'd say he's 90-percent safe: He'd have to suck and someone would have to be really step up to take his job. But he's not a lock.

[spursparker9]

I was expecting video tbh

[ceperez]

Said Popovich: “He sees things; the second or third iteration. You can see the first guy that’s open, but sometimes he sees something else developing on the floor. That’s hard to coach. I don’t know if you can coach it. It’s just a natural affinity for that part of the game, and he has that.”

Pretty much seals the deal. You can find a ton of athletic players, but to find one that knows how to read the court, that's a unicorn!

If he ends up playing for PG instead of the SG slot, then that would be even better. We can dump McCallum and Jimmer (both undersized).

[TheGreatYacht]

Will be our starting SF when Kiwi suffers his annual paper cut injury

[NameLess Scrub]

Well.. we know he will need to make open 3s.. likes almost every Spurs wing player

[Dingle Barry]

simmons is a potential 2 way player if he really lives up to his potential

the same cant be said about the other 2 scrubs...jimmy and butler

This. I don't see any way he gets cut, regardless of how cheap he is.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

I like Simmons potential, but he's real sloppy and careless with the ball, and prone to turnovers.

Fair enough but I think that will be mitigated by the rest of the players he'll be on the floor with.
I feel like he over passed and tried to hard to get crap team mates involved in summer league