The San Antonio Spurs are regarded as one of the premier franchises in the NBA. They do the things right way almost every time, and it's hard to tell when the last time they made a questionable roster change was. The 2016/2017 season for the Spurs wasn't as successful as they might have wanted it to be, considering that they failed to reach the NBA Finals for the third year in a row. They were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors, and it became evident that they need to add more quality players in order to compete with the Warriors.
Free-agency was stacked this summer with lots of good players that would've loved to be coached by Gregg Popovich, but San Antonio failed to acquire a star-caliber player. To make things worse, it was announced on Friday that the Spurs have parted ways with a player that played a major role in their last season's success.
Jonathon Simmons in Orlando Magic uniform
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday that Jonathon Simmons and the Orlando Magic have agreed to a three-year deal. The San Antonio Spurs waived Simmons earlier this week, making him a free-agent. They were hoping he would re-sign with the team on a new deal, but unfortunately for them that didn't happen. Simmons instead decided to join the Orlando Magic, after he had spent the previous two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.
Free agent Jonathon Simmons has agreed to a three-year deal with the Orlando Magic, agent Cervando Tejada tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) 14. srpnja 2017.
He showed flashes of his potential several times during the 2016/2017 season, and especially in the playoffs. In 78 regular season games with the Spurs last season, Simmons averaged 6.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
He played even better in the postseason, averaging 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 15 playoff games with the Spurs. He is a 6-foot-6 athletic shooting guard, who can guard multiple positions. He should get significant playing time next season with the Orlando Magic.
Houston Rockets agree to terms with Tarik Black
The Houston Rockets have been pretty busy this summer. They've made some significant roster changes this offseason, and acquiring Chris Paul via trade from the Clippers is the biggest one. On Friday night, it was announced that the Rockets have signed a one-year with free-agent Tarik Black. The deal is reportedly worth $3.3 million as Black returns to Houston for the second time in his career.
Free agent forward Tarik Black has reached agreement to sign with the Houston Rockets, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) 14. srpnja 2017.
The 6-foot-9 center from Memphis already played for the Rockets during the 2014/2015 season. Last season, Black played 67 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
