Kobi Simmons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Waive Kobi Simmons

August 31st, 2023 at 5:07pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hornets have waived guard Kobi Simmons, according to a team press release.

Simmons, 26, signed a two-way contract with the Hornets in March after spending most of the season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. The former Arizona guard then saw his two-way contract converted into a standard deal in April. His minimum salary for ’23/24 was fully non-guaranteed.

Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 46 regular season and Showcase Cup games for the Swarm in 2022/23, shooting 38.1% from deep. Last season was actually Simmons’ third playing for the Swarm. However, Simmons only made five NBA appearances in ’22/23, scoring just five total points in that span of time.

Simmons is a seasoned G League veteran, having played in 159 games in the NBA’s developmental league since going undrafted in 2017. The 6’5″ guard began his career with the Grizzlies on a two-way deal back in the ’17/18 season, averaging 6.1 points in 32 games (12 starts) with Memphis. However, the Grizzlies cut ties with him following the season.

The next year, in ’17/18, the Cavaliers signed Simmons to a 10-day contract and he appeared in a single game, but he didn’t stick around in Cleveland. After that, Simmons played for the Swarm in three of the next four seasons before landing his two-way deal with the team.

After signing P.J. Washington to a deal, Charlotte’s roster quickly became crowded. Having cut Simmons, Charlotte is down to 15 players on standard contracts (JT Thor and Frank Ntilikina have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals). The Hornets also have two players on two-way deals (Leaky Black and Amari Bailey) and four more who are reportedly joining the team for training camp (R.J. Hunter, Angelo Allegri, Nathan Mensah and Tre Scott).

The team drafted James Nnaji with the No. 31 overall pick this year but he has yet to sign and may be stashed. Theo Maledon remains a two-way restricted free agent.

Contract Details: Samanic, Carey, Lakers, Cauley-Stein, More

April 11th, 2023 at 7:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Luka Samanic a rest-of-season salary of $432,795 on his new two-year deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. A minimum salary for 2022/23 for the final three days of the season would have paid Samanic just $32,795, so Utah took advantage of its flexibility with the MLE to give him significantly more than that.

In return, the Jazz will have Samanic under contract for a non-guaranteed minimum salary in 2023/24. His $2.07MM cap hit would become partially guaranteed for $400K if he isn’t waived on or before July 18. That partial guarantee would increase to $600K after October 23.

Vernon Carey Jr., the other player who signed with the Jazz during the season’s final weekend, also got a portion of the team’s mid-level exception, receiving $100K for the end of the 2022/23 season. Like Samanic, Carey has a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2023/24 on his new deal. He doesn’t have any offseason guarantee dates, but would be assured of receiving his full ’23/24 salary (approximately $2MM) if he remains under contract through October 23.

We have a few more details on recently signed contracts:

Both Tristan Thompson and Shaquille Harrison signed minimum-salary contracts with the Lakers, but Thompson’s deal only covers the rest of this season, while Harrison’s includes a non-guaranteed salary for 2023/24.
The contract that Willie Cauley-Stein signed with the Rockets on the final day of the regular season was just a one-year deal, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent again this summer.
Kobi Simmons received a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a non-guaranteed 2023/24 salary when he was promoted to the Hornets‘ standard roster from his two-way contract.
The two-way contracts recently signed by RaiQuan Gray (Nets), Dereon Seabron (Pelicans), Jacob Gilyard (Grizzlies), and Xavier Sneed (Hornets) all include a second year.

Hornets Convert Kobi Simmons’ Contract, Sign Xavier Sneed To Two-Way Deal

April 7th, 2023 at 9:42am CST by Arthur Hill

The two-way contract that Kobi Simmons signed with the Hornets last week has been converted to a standard deal, the team announced in a press release, adding that Xavier Sneed will fill the newly created two-way opening.

Simmons, a 25-year-old point guard, has appeared in three games so far with Charlotte, averaging 1.7 PPG in 5.7 minutes per night. It marked the first NBA action for the long-time G-Leaguer since he played one game for the Cavaliers during the 2018/19 season.

Simmons received a multi-year contract, according to the press release, but terms weren’t revealed so it’s uncertain whether he has any guaranteed money beyond this season. He has spent the past three years with Charlotte’s G League affiliate and is the club’s career leader in scoring.

Sneed averaged 5.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in three games with Charlotte on a 10-day contract that expired Thursday. The 25-year-old small forward also had brief stays with the Grizzlies and Jazz last season.

Hornets Sign Kobi Simmons To Two-Way Contract

March 30th, 2023 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 30: The Hornets have officially signed Simmons to a two-way deal, the club confirmed today in a press release.

MARCH 29: The Hornets have agreed to sign guard Kobi Simmons to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Simmons will be the second player from the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, to receive a promotion to the Hornets’ 17-man roster this week. The team also signed Xavier Sneed to a 10-day contract.

Simmons, who went undrafted out of Arizona in 2017, appeared in 33 NBA games for Memphis and Cleveland during his first two seasons, but has spent most of his professional career in the G League. He also played one season in Poland in 2021/22.

In 32 G League regular season games in ’22/23, Simmons has averaged 18.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .488/.383/.795. He was even better during the Showcase Cup in the fall, putting up 21.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 5.3 RPG on .491/.375/.837 shooting in 14 appearances (38.0 MPG).

If Simmons gets into a game for the Hornets during the last two weeks of this season, it will be his first NBA appearance since February 2, 2019.

Charlotte has had an open two-way slot since promoting Bryce McGowens to the standard roster a little over a month ago. Simmons and Theo Maledon will now occupy those two-way spots. The Hornets were one of three NBA teams with a two-way opening — the Pacers and Suns are the other two, as our tracker shows.

Kobi Simmons Signs In Poland

September 25th, 2021 at 3:34pm CST by JD Shaw

Free agent guard Kobi Simmons has signed in Poland with Stal Ostrow, agents Aaron Turner and Kshaun Daley of Verus Basketball told Hoops Rumors.

This marks the first career overseas stint for Simmons, who went undrafted in 2017 after spending one collegiate season at Arizona. He’s made past NBA stops with the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Hornets.

Simmons appeared in 15 G League games with the Greensboro Swarm last season, averaging 18.3 points, six assists and 32.9 minutes per contest. The 24-year-old was also one of the top performers in the G League during the 2019/20 season, holding per-game averages of 17.4 points and 5.6 assists.

Simmons played 32 NBA games with Memphis in 2017/18 and one game with Cleveland in 2018/19. He was with Portland for summer league last month.

Hornets Sign McDaniels To Standard Deal; Convert Simmons To Two-Way

October 20th, 2019 at 3:12pm CST by clarkcrum

3:12pm: As noted as a possibility below, the Hornets have converted Simmons’ contract to a two-way deal, per an official release from the team.

3:10pm: Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Hornets rookie forward Jalen McDaniels, who just last night had his non-guaranteed one-year deal converted to a two-way contract, has now agreed to sign a partially guaranteed multi-year deal with the Hornets to finalize Charlotte’s 15-man roster.

Per Charania’s report, it appears that the Hornets will either waive Kobi Simmons or convert his deal to a two-way contract, but there has yet to be a report on that front. If Simmons is converted to a two-way deal, he’ll join Robert Franks as the team’s two two-way players to begin the 2019/20 season.

As for McDaniels, he goes from the last unsigned 2019 NBA Draft pick signed to a partially guaranteed contract holder in the span of 10 days. The 6’10” forward averaged 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 34 games (31.0 MPG) for San Diego State last season.

Hornets Convert Caleb Martin To Two-Way Deal

October 19th, 2019 at 4:22pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving two-way player Ahmed Hill earlier today, the Hornets have filled that newly-opened two-way slot by converting rookie forward Caleb Martin‘s Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way pact, the team announced in a press release.

It appears that Martin, whose twin brother Cody Martin was selected by the Hornets in the second round of this year’s draft, will remain on the same roster as Cody after playing with him at Nevada as well.

Caleb averaged 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 34 games as a senior for the Wolf Pack. In five preseason games with the Hornets, he recorded 9.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 20.6 minutes per game.

While Martin and Robert Franks are occupying the Hornets’ two-way slots for the time being, that could change. Rod Boone of The Athletic tweeted earlier today that Kobi Simmons and Jalen McDaniels, who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts, are candidates to get two-way deals in Charlotte. Boone also hears that converting Martin to a two-way deal may be a procedural move to get him back on the regular roster on a new standard contract (Twitter link).

For now, the Hornets have 17 players under contract — 13 on guaranteed salaries, Simmons and McDaniels on non-guaranteed deals, and Martin and Franks on two-way pacts.

Hornets Sign Kobi Simmons To Camp Deal

September 16th, 2019 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 16: The Hornets have signed Simmons to their training camp roster, the club confirmed today in a press release.

Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, acquired Simmons’ NBAGL rights last week, so if the point guard doesn’t earn a regular season NBA roster spot, he’ll likely end up playing for the Swarm.

SEPTEMBER 3: The Hornets and free agent point guard Kobi Simmons have reached an agreement on a one-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Although Charania doesn’t go into detail on the terms of Simmons’ deal, he notes that the 22-year-old will get a chance to compete for a regular season roster spot in training camp, so it figures to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 pact.

Simmons, who went undrafted out of Arizona in 2017, spent his first professional season on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies. He appeared in 32 NBA games for the club in his rookie year, averaging 6.1 PPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.6 RPG in 20.1 minutes per contest.

After being waived by Memphis last August, Simmons spent most of the 2018/19 season with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate. He recorded 17.2 PPG, 3.5 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 35 NBAGL games, making one brief NBA appearance for the Cavaliers after signing a 10-day contract with the club in January.

Once they officially sign Simmons, the Hornets will have 20 players under contract. Only 13 of Charlotte’s players have guaranteed salaries for 2019/20, so there will be one or two roster spots up for grabs. Simmons figures to compete with fellow camp invitees Joe Chealey, Caleb Martin, Josh Perkins, and Thomas Welsh — Chealey and Perkins, both point guards, may represent his direct competition.

Eastern Notes: Gasol, Carter, Simmons, Booker

September 12th, 2019 at 9:05pm CST by clarkcrum

With Kawhi Leonard gone from Toronto, veteran big man Marc Gasol becomes even more important to the Raptors’ success this season and beyond than he was during the team’s memorable run to a title during the 2018/19 campaign, writes Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer.

With Leonard back home in California, forward Pascal Siakam becomes the undisputed future of the Raptors, with his development into a star of paramount concern for Toronto’s long term outlook. And as Tjarks analyzes, Siakam is at his best – or at least was last year – when playing alongside Gasol.

For one, Siakam loves to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim, so it’s important to play him with a center who can shoot well enough from the outside to drag Siakam’s defender out of the paint.

Additionally, Siakam is not yet an elite play-maker, so it helps to have other players like Gasol around him who can keep everyone else involved in the offense while Siakam plays in attack mode.

Finally, Gasol provides a large body that Toronto can use during the regular season to bang with big Eastern Conference centers like Joel Embiid over the course of an 82-game season. As Tjarks analogizes, Gasol essentially acts as a lead blocker for Siakam, clearing obstacles for Siakam to thrive.

There’s more tonight from the Eastern Conference:

With his daughter relatively nearby in Charlotte and a future in broadcasting in mind, Hawks guard Vince Carter told The Ringer’s Winging It podcast (h/t to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that returning to Atlanta was a great opportunity for him to begin focusing on life after basketball while still playing a final season in the NBA.
After agreeing to one-year contract with free agent guard Kobi Simmons, the Hornets G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, acquired the 22-year-old Arizona product’s NBAGL rights, per Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Free agent forward Trevor Booker attended his scheduled workout with the Bucks this week, reports Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. The Bucks only have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible Booker could end up competing with Dragan Bender for Milwaukee’s final standard roster spot if he signs with the club.

Hornets Issue Required Tender To Jalen McDaniels

September 4th, 2019 at 6:36pm CST by clarkcrum

The Hornets have issued a one year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract offer (“required tender”) to 2019 second-round pick, rookie forward Jalen McDaniels, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, all unsigned 2019 second-round draft picks become free agents if not given a required tender by today, so the Hornets had to make a decision as to whether they wanted to retain McDaniels’ rights after drafting the San Diego State product No. 52 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.

As we noted earlier today, the Hornets have already agreed to sign rookie guard Ahmed Hill to the team’s second two-way contract, and with the expected addition of point guard Kobi Simmons, Charlotte will have a full 20-man offseason roster without McDaniels. As such, the team may no longer be interested in bringing the rookie to training camp this season.

However, as Bonnell notes, two-way contracts can be a fluid situation, so if Charlotte wants to sign McDaniels to a two-way contract later (perhaps when his legal troubles are more thoroughly settled), the team could easily move on from Hill or fellow two-way recipient Robert Franks.