Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

Steve Clifford: Jonathon Simmons cleared from injury last week

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 14: Jonathon Simmons #17 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the Charlotte Hornets on February 14, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 14: Jonathon Simmons #17 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the Charlotte Hornets on February 14, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford says guard Jonathon Simmons was fully cleared from his wrist injury last week. He is ready to go for training camp.

Coach Steve Clifford told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com Jonathon Simmons was cleared for full basketball activities just last week after wrist surgery earlier in the summer.

It is a promising sign that one of the Orlando Magic’s key players will be ready for training camp and get going for the season. But the long recovery from surgery certainly raises some areas for concern.

Simmons was one of the pleasant surprises of last season. The hard-working wing who grinded his way from paying for a G-League tryout to a spot in the San Antonio Spurs’ rotation firmly established himself as a key player for the Orlando Magic.

It was quite a story.

Last year, Simmons averaged 13.9 points per game on a 51.1 percent effective field goal percentage in a career-high 29.4 minutes per game. Simmons’ increase in production was not merely from an increase in minutes. He averaged a career-best 17.1 points per 36 minutes. Simmons started in 50 of the 69 games he played, entering the starting lineup in late November.

Simmons had his flaws — he still needed to improve as a jump shooter and his strong defensive reputation took a bit of a step back with his increased role and focus on offense. But it was an overall encouraging season.

Simmons admitted toward the end of the season that he was feeling the fatigue of playing a career-high 2,029 minutes — 47.9 percent of his total regular season minutes across his three-year career. This summer would be important for Simmons not just to improve his skills but build strength and stamina to make it through the 82-game season.

Simmons missed the final 12 games with a wrist injury. It was announced in June that the injury required surgery. It kept Simmons in a cast for much of the offseason.

Once that cast was removed, Simmons could probably still do some skill training. But he probably was not playing any pick-up games or any intensive training until his doctors cleared him fully.

Getting cleared a few weeks before camp at least enables him to play in some of the pick-up games among teammates likely occurring at the Amway Center ahead of next week’s training camp opener.

Clifford is excited about what Simmons can bring. He told Denton he liked Simmons’ competitiveness and toughness. He views him as an important player on the team.

Certainly, Simmons will be. Orlando relied heavily on him last year as a creator and scorer. He still has to improve his 3-point shooting and find his clearer role defensively. Simmons is still putting everything together in a larger role.

This injury this summer was something of a setback. The summer is the time for each individual player to get better. There is no getting back that lost time.

Simmons will have to be ready to roll now soon after he got officially cleared from the injury. Again, that does not mean he was not working on his conditioning or unable to work out or not working on his skills. He could still do all those things for at least a little while. The clearance appears to be for him to be fully cleared for basketball activities and contact.

dark. Next. Steve Clifford will experiment with lineups

It is good to hear Simmons is fully recovered and ready to go. The Magic will absolutely need him to have any kind of success this season. Especially considering Simmons will compete for a starting spot to begin the year.