Coming off two solid seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, Jonathon Simmons was expected to receive an extension offer by his team as he entered this summer as a restricted free agent. He was a fixture in Gregg Popovich’s rotation, and averaged 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists in 17.8 minutes per game.
However, he surprisingly was not offered any, and he even became an unrestricted FA after the Spurs renounced his rights. Now, it has been reported by Casey Keirnan of Fox Sports San Antonio that Simmons did not receive a single offer from the team, which made it clear they had no plans of re-signing him.
The good news for the 27-year-old Houston product is there were a number of teams interested in adding him to their fold. The New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks were rumored to be in talks with him earlier in the summer, but he recently signed with the Orlando Magic on a three-year deal, and is set to become a part of their core.
Simmons has made a name for himself as a good perimeter defender and has experience defending some of the best shooting guards and small forwards in the league today. Should he play close to the level he was at with the Spurs, or even surpass it, he could turn out to be an important signing for the Magic, who are looking to become a winning group once again with Simmons in their roster.