Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Anfernee Simons

Trail Blazers Pick Up 2021/22 Options For Simons, Little

December 27th, 2020 at 1:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Trail Blazers have picked up the 2021/22 season options for third-year guard Anfernee Simons and second-year forward Nassir Little, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

After appearing in just 20 games during his 2018/19 rookie campaign, Simons, 21, earned a slot in Portland’s rotation during his second season with the club, 2019/20. The 6’3″ guard averaged 8.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 20.7 MPG across 70 games.

The team has now locked in the $3,938,818 2021/22 season salary for Simons. If the Trail Blazers and Simons do not reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension next offseason, the guard will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022.

Little, 20, was drafted with the No. 25 pick in 2019 after one season at North Carolina. The 6’5″ forward appeared in 48 games during his rookie season, averaging 11.9 MPG. He is set to earn $2,316,240 next season.

The league deadline for teams to exercise third- and fourth-year team options on rookie scale contracts is December 29.

Repost Share Send via email

Blazers Notes: Collins, Hood, Free Agency, Simons

November 23rd, 2020 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins, whose 2019/20 season came to an early end when he underwent ankle surgery in August, isn’t expected to be ready to go for the start of the ’20/21 campaign, president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said today (Twitter link via Joe Freeman of The Oregonian). According to Olshey, Collins will likely be out until mid-January or so.

With Collins out of the lineup for the time being, the door may be open for newly-added big men Enes Kanter and Harry Giles to pick up some extra minutes at the start of the season. The Blazers could also end up leaning more heavily on smaller lineups with Robert Covington or Carmelo Anthony at the four.

Here’s more out of Portland:

  • Olshey expects swingman Rodney Hood, who is returning from a torn Achilles, to be ready for opening night (Twitter link via Freeman).
  • Portland’s offseason moves were aimed at improving the team’s defense and adding versatility and athleticism to the squad, Olshey said (per Freeman). The additions of Covington and Derrick Jones, in particular, should help on that front.
  • The Blazers, who intend to lean on Anfernee Simons as their backup point guard, don’t plan to fill their 15th roster spot due to potential luxury tax concerns, Olshey said (Twitter link via Freeman).
Repost Share Send via email

Lowe’s Latest: Beal, Celtics, Culver, Heat, Gordon, More

November 5th, 2020 at 3:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams with interest in Bradley Beal haven’t given up hope that the Wizards will consider trading him this fall, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN, who notes that multiple “strong playoff teams” have looked into what it would take to acquire a top-10 pick and may be seeking extra assets to swing a big trade for someone like Beal.

However, the Wizards have shown zero interest in trading Beal, even for the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, sources tell ESPN. The Timberwolves (No. 1) and Warriors (No. 2) are both known to be hoping to trade their selections for an All-NBA caliber player like Beal (or Ben Simmons or Devin Booker), but it seems unlikely that such a deal will materialize, says Lowe.

For the Wizards to really consider the idea of moving Beal, he may have to tell the team he would prefer to play elsewhere, per Lowe. Perhaps that will happen down the road if Washington doesn’t bounce back from a second consecutive lottery finish, but it hasn’t to this point.

Here’s much more from Lowe:

  • Lowe confirms the Celtics have explored using their three first-round picks to trade up in the draft, but says Boston is considering a number of options with those picks, including trying to trade for a “solid veteran.” Since so many teams are in win-now mode, there aren’t many of those players available, according to Lowe, who says that Larry Nance Jr. and Dennis Schröder are among the players who could be under-the-radar targets for teams looking to upgrade their rotations.
  • Jarrett Culver‘s name has popped up in trade rumors, but Lowe thinks the Timberwolves would only move him in a package for a star, or for a draft pick that would help acquire a star. Lowe adds that he thinks Minnesota will dangle the No. 17 pick and James Johnson‘s expiring contract in search of a veteran contributor.
  • While Lowe thinks the Heat should be able to re-sign Goran Dragic on a big one-year deal, he expects it to be tougher for Miami to take the same approach with Jae Crowder, who will likely receive multiyear offers in the mid-level range.
  • Rival executives have pitched the idea of the Mavericks acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Jazz, but Lowe is skeptical there will be a match there and believes Dallas will have a tough time acquiring a third star via trade this offseason.
  • It’s unclear what sort of leaguewide interest there is in Magic forward Aaron Gordon. Lowe points to the Trail Blazers as a potential match, but says the two teams have never seriously discussed a swap involving Gordon and CJ McCollum and isn’t sure whether lesser assets like Zach Collins or Anfernee Simons would appeal to Orlando.
  • Lowe’s offseason preview is jam-packed with many more notes and is worth checking out in full. We relayed a number of Lowe’s other most intriguing tidbits in our stories earlier today, including items on the Bucks, Pistons, and Knicks.
Repost Share Send via email

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Ingles, Simons, Thunder

March 29th, 2020 at 3:07pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Timberwolves were struggling through a difficult 2019/20 season even before the coronavirus pandemic caused the entire league to postpone play indefinitely, writes The Star Tribune’s Sid Hartman.

The Wolves’ average home attendance count of 15,066 placed them last in the NBA. Their 19-47 record put them at No. 14 in the Western Conference. After the team made a series of deadline trades, including the transaction that moved swing man Andrew Wiggins‘ contract to the Warriors in exchange for point guard D’Angelo Russell, president of basketball operations Gerson Rosas stressed the importance of game play for building chemistry for the new-look Wolves.

“Those [remaining] games are critically important to us,” Rosas said. “I’ve said it from the beginning, this year is about building identity. It’s building chemistry, building habits, and it is painful. These first 50 games, it was painful to go through the growing pains.” The truncation of the team’s final 18 games impeded that.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • Jazz wing Joe Ingles, who tested negative for COVID-19, notes that he’d be willing to walk away from the NBA if he needed to do so to protect his three-year-old son Jacob, who is more at risk due to his autism, per The Athletic’s Sam Amick. “If you had to tell me that you could never play again to protect Jacob from this,” Ingles said, “I would walk away, fly to Australia and never play another game in my life and be very content with it.”
  • Second-year Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has shown flashes of promise, but had been frustrated by his own lack of progress during the 2019/20 season, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. The Blazers are still excited about the athletic swingman’s potential.
  • The Thunder face an uncertain future in light of the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on next season’s salary cap, the Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto reports. Though Oklahoma City only has $105.5MM committed in salaries next year, the team’s notable free agents are key contributors Danilo Gallinari and Nerlens Noel. Defensive stalwart Andre Roberson, who has been absent since midway through the 2017/18 season with a serious injury, is also on an expiring deal this summer. Roberson last suited up for an NBA game on January 27, 2018.
Repost Share Send via email

Blazers Exercise 2020/21 Options On Collins, Simons

September 24th, 2019 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have exercised their 2020/21 team options on Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Collins, Portland’s first-round pick in 2017, will have a $5,406,255 cap hit on his fourth-year option in ’20/21. He’ll be extension-eligible next summer and will otherwise be on track for restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.

The big man, who turns 22 in November, projects to have a major role for the Blazers with Jusuf Nurkic still sidelined to start the season. Collins averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 77 games off the bench last season, but will likely be part of the starting lineup this fall and figure to play more than the 17.6 minutes per game he averaged in 2018/19.

[RELATED: Decisions On 2020/21 Rookie Scale Team Options]

As for Simons, his third-year option for ’20/21 will have a very modest cap hit of $2,252,040. The 20-year-old, who was selected 24th overall in the 2018 draft, appeared in just 20 games during his rookie season but has been generating buzz this offseason and should play more minutes going forward. Simons figures to get an opportunity to back up Damian Lillard at the point now that Evan Turner is no longer in the picture.

With Collins and Simons now locked in for 2020/21, the Blazers have approximately $91.4MM in guaranteed money on their cap. That figure doesn’t include player options for Rodney Hood or Mario Hezonja.

Repost Share Send via email

Blazers, Hawks Swap Evan Turner, Kent Bazemore

June 24th, 2019 at 6:07pm CST by Luke Adams

6:07pm: The trade is official, according to a league press release.

2:55pm: The Trail Blazers and Hawks have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the teams are swapping veterans Evan Turner and Kent Bazemore.

Turner and Bazemore signed nearly identical four-year, $70MM contracts during the summer of 2016, so both players will be on expiring deals during the 2019/20 season. Since Bazemore’s contract was a little more backloaded, he’ll be slightly more expensive next season, earning a salary of $19.27MM compared to Turner’s $18.61MM.

For Portland, Bazemore will be a three-and-D piece who could help space the floor around the team’s play-making guards. The veteran swingman struggled in 2018/19, battling some health issues and finishing with just 11.6 PPG on .402/.320/.726 shooting in 67 games (24.5 MPG). However, he has been a more reliable rotation player in the past, having made 36.5% of his three-pointers in his first four years in Atlanta, including 39.4% in 2017/18.

Bazemore should be a good fit on a Trail Blazers roster that could use another three-point marksman on the wing. In the postseason, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Meyers Leonard were fairly reliable from outside, but the only wings making threes for Portland were Seth Curry and Rodney Hood — both players are free agents this summer.

Turner, on the other hand, has never been much of an outside threat, but can be a secondary play-maker, having taken on a good deal of ball-handling responsibilities on the Trail Blazers’ second unit last season. He averaged 6.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.9 APG on .460/.212/.708 shooting in 73 games (22.0 MPG).

The Blazers believe that 2018 first-rounder Anfernee Simons can take on a bigger play-making role off the bench next season, tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic.

With sharpshooter Allen Crabbe arriving in a trade with Brooklyn, Atlanta views Turner’s skill set as more of a fit than Bazemore’s on this year’s roster. The Hawks envision Turner in the backup point guard role and want to open up some minutes for young players like De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Kevin Huerter as well, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

The Blazers and Hawks won’t have to wait until the new league year begins to consummate this deal, since Turner’s and Bazemore’s cap charges are so similar.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Repost Share Send via email

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/31/19

January 31st, 2019 at 9:17pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

Repost Share Send via email

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/20/19

January 20th, 2019 at 8:01pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Here are Sunday’s NBA G League assignments and recalls from across the league:

Repost Share Send via email

Northwest Notes: Udoh, Thunder, Tolliver, Blazers

July 4th, 2018 at 5:03pm CST by clarkcrum

The Jazz have been relatively generous during free agency so far this summer compared to most teams, handing out a two-year, $36MM contract to forward Derrick Favors, agreeing to a three-year, $33MM deal with backup guard Dante Exum, and reaching terms on a two-year, $4MM pact with seldom-used guard Raul Neto.

Furthermore, Utah has already guaranteed the 2018/19 salary of Thabo Sefolosha, who was limited to only 39 games last season. As such, it would appear that the Jazz are intent on sticking with their 2017/18 roster for now, which means that both Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh can be cautiously optimistic while waiting for their 2018/19 salary to become guaranteed.

Udoh in particular, who averaged 2.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 63 games for the Jazz last season, and whose $3.36MM salary becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on Utah’s roster past July 9, is trying to remain positive while awaiting Utah’s decision on his future, writes Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News.

“You know, we’ll see what happens,” Udoh told the Deseret News. “I’m grateful. I’m getting great workouts at the facility. I’ve been here pretty much since the season has been over outside of a couple trips, but I’ve just been getting in good work.”

Per Woodyard, Udoh is excited and prepared to return in a Jazz uniform next season, but also understands the business-like nature of the NBA.

“It’s gonna be a fun season,” Udoh said. “The West has gotten better but we’ve gotten better and we’re gonna be the same team next year. Starting last year, you didn’t know what you were going to get with so many new pieces, but now we’ll be ready from the beginning.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes that although Paul George did in fact want to be a Laker at this time last year, he is now happy in Oklahoma City after signing a four-year, $137MM max contract with the Thunder on the eve of free agency.
  • According to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, Timberwolves’ free-agent signee forward Anthony Tolliver chose a return to Minnesota over four other pursuing teams because of the familiarity he has for the franchise – he played for the Wolves from 2010 to 2012 – and because “(he) want(s) to win.”
  • While it’s probably a bit bold to get too excited about the free agent signing of a backup, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes that the addition of 24 year-old center Nerlens Noel on a minimum-salary deal is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Thunder.
  • Per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian, a couple of key subplots have emerged for the Trail Blazers during the team’s summer league minicamp. First, it’s an opportunity for Portland to get a first-hand look at rookies Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. in an NBA practice. Moreover, both Wade Baldwin and Georgios Papagiannis are fighting for their NBA lives while Jake Layman looks to secure a more prominent role for next season.
Repost Share Send via email

Trail Blazers Sign First-Rounder Anfernee Simons

July 2nd, 2018 at 8:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers have signed first-round pick Anfernee Simons, according to the team’s website.

Portland used the 24th overall pick on the 19-year-old Simons, who attended IMG Academy last year. The 6’4” Simons will receive approximately $1.8MM during his rookie year.

Simons could see playing time in his rookie season, even though the Trail Blazers just came to terms with free agent Seth Curry. Portland is still somewhat thin at the guard spots behind starters Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Repost Share Send via email
Load More Posts