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Trail Blazers rookie Anfernee Simons has appeared in five games to start to the the 2018-19 season. Due to his lack of exposure, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman gave Simons a wait-and-see grade in his recent evaluations of 2018 first-round picks.
After awarding stellar grades to Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Wasserman delivered an incomplete grade for Simons.
Any contributions this season from Anfernee Simons should be considered a bonus. The Portland Trail Blazers drafted him straight out of high school (fifth-year graduate), presumably seeing long-term potential tied to his athleticism and scoring ability.
He’s mostly watched from the bench the last two months since Portland doesn’t have a G League affiliate.
Simons was selected by the Blazers with the No. 24 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. After a season in IMG Academy’s post-grad program, Simons decided to take a non-traditional path to the professional ranks.
Outside of Damian Lillard, coach Terry Stotts has a history of limiting the action of rookie guards in his rotations. Despite a limited amount of regular season exposure, Simons has shown that he can create space off the dribble.