While Klay Thompson serves as the headliner at the Golden State Warriors voluntary offseason minicamp, a group of G League players are battling to make an impression at the NBA level.
Prior to the start of minicamp at Chase Center, the Warriors brought in five players from their Santa Cruz G League affiliate. NBA veteran turned Santa Cruz Warrior Jonathon Simmons joined Golden State’s San Francisco “Dubble.”
After a stint in the G League to start his career, Simmons made his first appearance in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs in 2015. Simmons impressed in two seasons with Gregg Popovich, earning a bid to the 2017 Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend. After the Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer in the 2017 offseason, Simmons inked a three-year, $20 million contract with the Orlando Magic.
Simmons averaged a career-high 13.9 points on 46.5% shooting from the field in his first season with the Magic. However, the wing’s playing time and numbers dipped in the following season. In 2019, the Magic included Simmons in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for Markelle Fultz.
After 15 games with Philadelphia, Simmons was traded to the Washington Wizards in a post-draft day deal. The Wizards waived Simmons before the start of the season. Simmons joined Kris Weems and the Santa Cruz Warriors in Feb. 2020.
After working with Simmons over the last week at Golden State’s offseason minicamp, Steve Kerr believes the University of Houston product “still has years to offer in the NBA.”
Kerr via Warriors SoundCloud:
It’s fun to coach these guys this week. Jonathan Simmons has had a really good week of camp and still has years to offer in the NBA, in my opinion.
When asked if Simmons is a fit for the Warriors, Kerr responded with “possibly.”
Possibly. We could use length on the wings. We know that. So, I think he showed that he’s still got the athleticism and length to be a factor defensively. He’s got the strength to switch onto bigger players and hold his own down on the block. And offensively, he’s a good 3-point shooter. He’s got the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. So, I’m a fan, and obviously, there’s still a lot of work to be done with our roster. We will see how it all shakes up.
With several expensive contracts on the books, the Warriors will need to get creative while rebuilding the roster for 2020-21. With young players like Jordan Poole, Ky Bowman, Mychal Mulder and Juan Toscano-Anderson currently listed as options off the bench, Kerr could use a veteran presence like Simmons to stabilize his second unit.
Following his performance at minicamp, Simmons could be in line to compete for a roster spot with the Warriors when preseason training camp arrives.
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