The Golden State Warriors' choice to wait on LeBron James' free-agency decision has cost them a shot at Anfernee Simons. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Simons and the 76ers agreed to a two-year, $12.3 million contract with a player option in the second season. The Warriors would have had to use part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception or essentially the full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Simons. ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported that the Dubs were offering Simons a minimum contract, but they were unwilling to offer more while waiting on James. The Warriors were rumored to be interested in Simons and Collin Sexton for more than a month. They also lost out on Sexton, who signed with the Lakers. Retaining Melton Lessens the Blow of Losing Out on SimonsDe'Anthony Melton and Simons are very different players, so it still stings a bit that the Warriors didn't land Simons. But from a guard depth perspective, Melton is a great piece. Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski and Melton will be the three highest-minute guards. They can get by without Simons when they are getting scoring and playmaking from a forward like Jimmy Butler or LeBron. If the Warriors miss out on LeBron too, they will be missing offensive punch until Butler returns from his knee injury. But that's the risk they are willing to take to potentially get LeBron on, at most, a $15 million contract.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow