2017 NBA free agency grades: Orlando Magic to add Jonathon Simmons

According to reports, the Orlando Magic have agreed to a three-year deal with unrestricted free agent Jonathon Simmons.

A relatively quiet free agency has suddenly heated up for the Orlando Magic.

On Friday afternoon, Shams Charania of The Vertical reported that the Magic had come to an agreement with unrestricted free agent Jonathon Simmons on a three-year deal. According to David Aldridge of NBA.com, all three years are fully guaranteed and it’s slated to be worth $18 million, per ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This puts a close to Simmons’ interesting free agency, which picked up significantly after the San Antonio Spurs pulled Simmons’ qualifying offer earlier in the week. After receiving plenty of interest from teams around the league over the last 48 hours, Simmons finally settled on joining the Magic.

Of course, this is just the latest milestone in Simmons’ incredible journey to the NBA level.

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, Simmons has risen through the ranks to secure his place in the league, which started when the Houston native joined the then-Austin Toros of the NBA D-League before the 2013-14 season after earning a tryout that cost him $150.

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Following his brilliant showing in the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League, Simmons secured a two-year deal with the Spurs and from there, he was able to carve out a sizable role in the team’s rotation over the next two seasons.

It was during the Spurs’ run in the playoffs last year where Simmons truly broke through. In 15 appearances, he averaged 10.5 points game, dished out 1.9 assists per game and shot 45.6 percent from the field as well as 35.1 percent from three-point range.

For the Magic, the addition of Simmons is by far the biggest splash in their free agency as they’ve only added veteran point guard Shelvin Mack on a reported two-year, $12 million deal to this point.

With a new front office staff in place, the Magic are still looking to return to their winning ways after years of failing to climb out of the league’s basement. However, finding an identity is one of the biggest problems the Magic currently face as they still have major work to do to build a more cohesive roster from top to bottom.

As far as Simmons’ fit with his new team goes, there are both positives and concerns to draw from his addition for the Magic.

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Offensively, Simmons is coming off of a down shooting season from deep as he shot 29.4 percent from downtown last year, which creates questions over whether he’ll be able to space the floor efficiently. For a Magic team that is in need of improving their perimeter shooting significantly and their offensive production in general, the Magic will have to hope Simmons performs up to the efficiency he set in his rookie season.

On the flip side, Simmons is another intriguing option to have at head coach Frank Vogel’s disposal on the defensive end. A long, rangy and athletic defender, the Magic add more versatility with Simmons in the fold to help boost a mediocre defense that ranked 24th in the league last year, per NBA.com.

That area, in particular, will be something to watch for moving forward, considering the intriguing defensive options the Magic have added through the draft as well as Vogel’s pedigree for building tough, hard-nosed defenses during his time with the Indiana Pacers.

All in all, the Magic’s addition of Simmons is a solid decision at this point in the offseason and if we’re to go by the reported cost, it’s a shrewd and responsible signing on the parts of Jeff Weltman and John Hammond.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

While the results on the court are to be determined, it’s just the start of another chapter in Simmons’ true rags-to-riches story.

Grade: B