Nuggets Free Agency: Jonathon Simmons ‘talking to several teams’
By Tom West
The San Antonio Spurs have withdrawn Jonathon Simmons’ qualifying offer and he’s now talking to multiple teams in NBA free agency. Could the Denver Nuggets be involved?
Are the Denver Nuggets front runners to sign Jonathon Simmons in NBA free agency? No way. But he’s someone they should be looking into, and they may have a slightly better chance to now, albeit a small one.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that after withdrawing Simmons’ qualifying offer and renouncing his rights, the San Antonio Spurs were “working to complete a contract,” before tweeting a little while later that “Simmons is talking to several teams on the market now. No assurance he returns to Spurs.”
That’s encouraging to hear for Nuggets fans interested in the thought of adding Simmons, an athletic wing capable of switching between four positions if need be with improved ball handling ability, both as a driver and playmaker.
Furthermore, as Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News reported, Simmons and his team aren’t talking to the Spurs.
Spoke to Simmons' reps, they are not talking to #Spurs -there is no new deal being discussed. Last call was renouncing his rights. That's it
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) July 13, 2017
This situation has certainly gotten interesting. Seeing as Simmons was a restricted free agent, it looked like the Spurs would want to keep him around. They appreciated his defense and athleticism. But they’ve now agreed to a deal with EuroLeague guard Brandon Paul, who has been balling out in Summer League for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it looks far more likely that Simmons will be leaving San Antonio.
The tricky part for the Nuggets is that as much as they may like to sign an athletic, versatile, defensive wing, they’re really going to struggle to create the kind of cap space that could entice Simmons away from other teams that have more to offer.
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Denver currently has just $1.94 million in cap space, per Keith Smith’s expert salary sheets, which isn’t going to get a deal done for Simmons. Teams should be wary of overpaying for a player who’s already 28 and struggles from three-point range, but they can easily pay more than $1.94 million per year. Simmons has earned it.
Right now, the Nuggets should, at the very least, make contact with Simmons and gauge his interest in the team, selling the chance to still be in the playoffs, join a bunch of young talent and a new All-Star in Paul Millsap, and play off the tremendous passing of Nikola Jokic. To create enough cap space, the Nuggets could try to trade one of their many power forwards, possibly ditching someone like Darrell Arthur (rumors of Kenneth Faried’s departure have quietened up). How easy that is to accomplish is another story.
Next: Who will break out for Nuggets next season?
Ultimately, Simmons’ free agency situation is one worth watching, but it’s hard to see the Nuggets finding enough money to make this work, no matter how good he’d be as an energizing defender on the wing.