Soon-to-be Orlando Magic forward Jonathon Simmons isn't regretful of his choice to make a move eastward after two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.
The gritty three-and-D talent signed a three-year, $20 million deal with the organization on Friday after having his rights renounced by the Spurs the day before, actively surveying his options around the league.
“It just business,” Simmons told Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. “It's not disappointing to me at all. That's just how it is… I wasn't disappointed about anything. I believe everything happened for a reason.”
“I'm really not surprised,” Simmons continued. “I didn't know what to expect. I was just trying to take it a day at a time and see what the opportunity was going to be.”
While no negotiations happened with the Spurs after he became an unrestricted free agent, going back to San Antonio would likely mean playing as a third-stringer behind Kawhi Leonard and the newly-signed Rudy Gay — making his already limited minutes at the small forward position that much scarce.
“No one expected it to be this tough,” said Simmons. “A guy like me still has to deal with politics at the end of the day. I was a low-tier guy still, after what I did, it still wasn't enough. I know that. I was expecting more, but I'm happy. It's $20 million. People don't get that every day.”
“I want to be in position to play a decent amount of minutes per game. I feel like I can excel playing enough minutes per game. I explained that to Pop and he understands that… I want to be able to continue to improve and still make a name for myself and I wasn't going to do that (with the Spurs). Not like I wanted to.”
Simmons, a well-rounded two-way player, should be able to carve a nice niche and garner decent minutes within a Magic franchise that can use a sixth man who can have an immediate impact on both ends of the floor.
“I have goals and I'm trying to attack them,” said Simmons. “I think Orlando is the perfect place to do that.”
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