2012 Clipper Exit Interviews -- Bobby Simmons

This is the fifth of our Clips Nation "exit interviews" of the 2012 Los Angeles Clippers, an overview and analysis, player by player, of all 15 Clippers who finished the 2011-2012 season on the roster.

Name: Bobby Simmons

2011-2012 Key Stats: 2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 33.3 (3pt%), 14:09 mpg

2012 Playoff Stats: 2.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 25.0% (3pt%), 8:00 mpg

Age: 32 (06/02/80)

Years in the NBA: 8

Years with the Clippers: 1 (current), 2 (prior)

2011-2012 Salary: $389,272

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

In a Nutshell:

It's a shame that there isn't much to say about Bobby, other than how his presence pushed Ryan Gomes to the end of the bench. I'm not exactly sure if that is even a good thing, despite how poorly Gomes has played. In 2005 Bobby had one of his best years as a Clipper, won the most improved player award and received a big paycheck from the Milwaukee Bucks. Things were looking good, however shortly after he regressed and has since struggled to find his groove, eventually ending up in the NBA Development League.

After losing Chauncey to a torn achilles, Simmons received a call-up from his former team. He played well enough to persevere through two 10-day contracts and earned a permanent spot on the roster. I wouldn't say he did anything particularly special, it's just that the standards weren't particularly high considering Gomes was so deep in the doghouse. That's not to say he didn't do his job. He played solid defense and didn't do anything to hurt the team while he was out there.

Strengths:

Bobby is an all around player, with few weaknesses for his position. He's a solid shooter, especially from range, averaging 39.6% from deep for his career. He plays good positional defense, even though there aren't any off the wall stats that scream that out.

Weaknesses:

His weaknesses go hand in hand with his strengths. He doesn't do anything particularly well, nothing outstanding to stand out. In essence, he is just a body to fill up minutes that will neither help nor hurt the team. In the NBA where the world's most outstanding athletes exist, it isn't necessarily a good thing to be average at everything. You either need to be above average at everything, or extremely good at something.

Future with the Clippers:

I can't see the Clippers picking him up in the future when there are better options out there in his position. Chauncey will hopefully be coming back and I fully expect the Clippers to be aggressive in picking up a solid small forward.