The New Orleans Hornets today signed center Henry Sims for the 19th Call-Up of the 2012-13 NBA Development League season. Sims joins more than 116 NBA players with NBA D-League experience currently on NBA rosters.
Sims (6-10, 245, Georgetown) has started all 36 games for the BayHawks this season, averaging 17.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Sims was a 2013 NBA D-League All-Star and scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor for the Prospects team in a 139-125 win over the Futures squad. Sims recorded 12 double-doubles on the season, ranking him second among NBA D-League players. He scored in double-figures in 32-of-36 games for the BayHawks this season.
Sims signed with the New York Knicks during training camp, but was waived before the start of the regular season.
Sims is expected to join the Hornets today and be available when the team hosts the Orlando Magic on Monday, March 4.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “It’s a good opportunity for him to see how he plays in practices and workouts and maybe he’ll get a shot in the game,” Hornets Coach Monty Williams said. “We need a backup center at this point with Jason (Smith) out for the season. We’ll probably piecemeal it together from here on out, but I like him (Sims) and his big body. It’s unfortunate when a guy has a decent body of work in college and has yet to make it with an NBA team. “I watched him at Georgetown. I love watching JT3 guys (John Thompson III). You have to have a clue if you’re going to play in his system. Guys are typically pretty smart players that come from Georgetown. I actually saw him play in the Big East tournament and he played pretty well.”
