The Portland Trail Blazers have picked up options on Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons. These moves apply to the 2020-21 season. The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Portland has exercised fourth year option on Zach Collins and third year option for Anfernee Simons, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 24, 2019
Portland Trail Blazers Exercises Options On Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons
Zach Collins
Collins showed to be more reliable in his second NBA season this past year in an increased role.
Where Collins really improved in his second season was on the offensive end of things. Per 100 possessions he increased his points to 18.3 and his offensive rebounds to 3.9. His offensive rebounding percentage also increased from 4.7 percent to 8.8 percent.
While Collins improved across the board offensively, the defensive end is where he needs to find more consistency. He has shown flashes defensively in his first two seasons. However, he has a tendency to get into foul trouble.
If he can avoid getting into foul trouble this season, it will lead to him being able to stay on the floor, which will help the team be more consistent offensively.
With Collins having a good chance to step in and start at power forward, it will be imperative for him to figure out how to stay out of foul trouble.
Anfernee Simons
The NBA world has seen very little of Simons. However, he did start one game last season. That was the very last game of the regular season against the Sacramento Kings, and he scored 37 points while dishing out nine assists and grabbing six rebounds in a game that locked up the third seed for Portland.
While the NBA has seen very little of Simons, the buzz this offseason has been palpable. With Seth Curry gone in the backcourt, it’s likely that Simons will be asked to step up and produce as a backup in the backcourt.
It’s nearly impossible to know what to expect from him, but the team is certainly excited about him, and Neil Olshey felt comfortable enough to let Curry leave and give Simons to reigns as a backup.
What it Means for the Portland Trail Blazers
This was an easy move to make. There’s a lot of excitement around these two former first-round picks, and by picking up these options, they will be on their rookie deal for at least one more season following this season.
Main Photo
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