Spurs renounce rights to Simmons, sign Brandon Paul

San Antonio Spurs v Washington Wizards

For at least a week now, the only thing that has been dominating the San Antonio Spurs’ news cycle has been Bryn Forbes and his Summer League performances.

Things got a little more interesting today as news broke that the Spurs have renounced the rights to restricted free agent Jonathon Simmons, making him an unrestricted free agent.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that today was the last day to lift qualifying offers to restricted free agents, but that the Spurs were still hoping to negotiate a deal with Simmons.

However Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News reports that no new deal is being discussed and his representatives were not pleased with the contract negotiations. Young also said the Spurs had discussed a sign and trade with Phoenix that would send veteran center Tyson Chandler to San Antonio, but the deal fell apart because of the two years and $26 million remaining on Chandler’s contract.

While the Spurs could use some depth at center, considering they are expected to have some cap flexibility next Summer with several contracts coming off the books, Chandler’s contract would have certainly affected the cap space they are expected to have.

With the Spurs no longer having the option to match, I would expect a Simmons signing to come sooner rather than later.

The Spurs were able to add some depth to their backcourt by signing 6-4 guard Brandon Paul. Paul had been playing in Summer League for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but there had been reports of him leaving Cleveland’s squad and speculation pointed to him having a contract in place.

Paul was averaging 14.3 points, five rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 32 percent from long range in Summer League. Last season, he played for Anadolu Efes in Turkey.

While undersized at 6-4 as a shooting guard, Paul is no pushover when it comes to playing against taller defenders. His long arms and athleticism give him an edge defensively, and he excels in transition. His shot selection was questionable at Illinois, but that seems to have improved in his years playing professional basketball.

Paul’s contract is guaranteed, so it’ll be interesting to see what the Spurs do with the limited roster spots they have left, especially in the case of Forbes, whose Summer League play will be hard to look past.

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