3. Become a reliable role player off the bench
Before Simons played in the Summer League, it did not seem like he would be apart of the regular season rotation and would only see garbage time minutes. After his impressive start with the Blazers, he could play himself into a top-nine rotation player.
Last season, the Blazers drafted Zach Collins and were planning on just playing him a few minutes a night and let him develop slowly, but he really impressed the Blazers coaches with his level of play, and they had no choice but to get him minutes.
By the end of the season, Collins was a big part of the bench unit and was often being used in close games instead of Jusuf Nurkic. Simons could very well follow that same path and carve out a role in the lineup by the end of the season, regardless of his youth or lack of physical development.
Portland moved on from Ed Davis, Pat Connaughton and Shabazz Napier this summer and all three guys were a central part of the bench unit. With those three players gone, there are minutes available on this squad. Simons is a confident shooter and scorer and to go along with that, he plays defense.
Portland added Nik Stauskas and Seth Curry to help the shooting needs this team needed, but Simons’ athleticism and ability to defend could earn him more minutes at some point this season. This team has been searching for their 3-and-D player since losing Wesley Matthews, and Simons could maybe start to embody that player.
Simons can play both point guard and shooting guard in the league. He could also be a third guard in a three-guard lineup. The Blazers liked to use Lillard, McCollum and Napier together a lot last season and could look to replace Napier with Simons. If the rookie works hard, improves and plays smart, he could very quickly be a crucial player for this team down the line this season.