During his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, guard Anfernee Simons made it clear that he wanted the "opportunity to win." Towards the end of his Blazers tenure, he even opened up about how much losing was taking a mental toll on him.
Portland appeared to have finally given him that opportunity he wanted by shipping him to the Boston Celtics in a one-for-one swap for Jrue Holiday. Immediately after joining Boston, Simons maintained that winning was all he ever wanted to do in his career. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan. Celtics decision-maker Brad Stevens' motivation for the trade was largely financial, and Simons quickly found himself a trade candidate in a different city.
He survived offseason trade rumors and even turned things around after a slow start in his new home. But at February's deadline, the Celtics finally flipped their new combo guard to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vučević. Not exactly the winning situation Simons had hoped for.
Anfernee Simons is a great fit with the 76ers
But there was a light at the end of the tunnel as he had to wait out the season and let his contract expire, finally having control over his own fate. Now, Simons gets to choose his own winning situation he wants to join.
ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Simons has agreed to a two-year, $12.3 million deal with the 76ers, which includes a player option in Year 2. He adds that Simons preferred Philadelphia over other options because of how well he fits with this new-look 76ers roster.
It's a steal for the 76ers to add such a lethal combo guard for that price. They now have an intriguing backcourt trio of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Simons to pair with a revamped frontcourt of Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade, and Joel Embiid.
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reports that Simons' other suitors included the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, and Indiana Pacers.
In some ways, it's surprising Simons didn't pick Miami. Florida is his home state, coming from the Orlando area. Most importantly, the Heat offer arguably an even better fit after winning the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. Like Philadelphia, they were a team in need of guard depth and floor spacing after landing a star this summer.
That said, both teams are likely in the same tier in the Eastern Conference now that the 76ers somehow managed to steal Brown from their rival in Boston. While it's not a ton of money relative to Simons talent and skill set, he should finally have a more permanent landing spot in a winning situation.
That's all he's ever wanted, and he finally gets that with the 76ers.
Add us as a preferred source on Google