Early Impressions of Anfernee Simons

Everyone knew the Trail Blazers were playing the long game when they drafted Anfernee Simons late in the first round of last year’s NBA Draft.

Since draft day, Portland has made an effort to reload at the guard position, also adding the likes of Seth Curry, Nik Stauskas, and Gary Trent Jr. According to Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, Simons seems slightly more NBA-ready than most people think:

He did look further ahead than expected during summer league, where he averaged 11.0 points on 43.4 percent shooting and went 9-of-26 from three. He only totaled three assists through 120 minutes, which tells you we’re talking about a scoring 2-guard and not a playmaking combo. But Simons looked smooth knocking down jumpers and slicing to the basket.

Simons is still just 19 years old and fresh out of the IMG Academy. Wasserman adds that the Trail Blazers will likely take it slow with Simons and that “he should join Portland’s rotation in 2019-20.”

All of Wasserman’s early rookie impressions can be found at Bleacher Report.