Former Clemson basketball star agrees to undrafted deal with NBA team

Clemson forward Aamir Simms didn’t hear his name called during the NBA draft on Thursday night, but agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks on Friday morning, according to ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

After the draft, the Virginia native vented some of his frustrations on Twitter, saying, “They gone feel me… what’s new! Slept on ain’t nothing but a routine now! Thank you to everyone who been sticking with me this far! God has something greater in store for me! I only need a foot in the door! #undraftedunderdog #Godisforever”

He followed it up a couple of hours later saying he’s “right where I’m supposed to be.”

Simms closed out his time at Clemson as the team’s leading scorer with 13.4 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists, starting in all 24 contests during the 2020-21 season, finishing 34th all-time in Clemson history with 1,122 points. He became just the fourth player in Clemson history to amass 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 150 assists, 75 steals and 75 blocks in a career — joining Trevor Booker, Horace Grant and Larry Nance.

He is just the 15th player in Clemson history to amass totals of 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in a career. He finished 20th all-time in rebounding with 636.

During the draft, the Knicks picked Texas forward Kai Jones, Tennessee guard Keon Johnson, Villanova forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Longhorns center Jericho Sims. Jones was reportedly traded to the Charlotte Hornets for a future first-round pick. The Knicks sent Johnson to the LA Clippers for Quentin Grimes, who played for Houston, and Robinson-Earl went to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Rokas Jokubaitis, an international player from Lithuania.

The Knicks went 41-31 this past year and made the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13.

The last Tigers player to go to the NBA was Jaron Blossomgame, who was taken by the San Antonio Spurs with the 59th pick in the 2019 draft.