Others might have seen the journey as a long shot.

Jonathon Simmons did not.

Even as he made the long, winding drive down U.S. Highway 290 from his hometown of Houston to Austin in September 2013, en route to the type of tryout most players view as a last resort, Simmons did so propelled by a tailwind of hope and curiosity.

“I just knew I could play a little bit,” said Simmons, now a 26-year-old undrafted rookie swingman with the Spurs. “Even though I’m raw, I knew with my athletic ability, I had to be good enough to play on some kind of level.”

That self-belief carried Simmons to the bandbox gym at Concordia University in northwest Austin for an open, cattle-call tryout for the Development League’s Austin Toros.

It is the kind of place where NBA stars are never born.

When Simmons made the Toros’ training camp roster, and eventually the D-League team itself, it felt to him like an accomplishment.

“I thought maybe I could use the D-League to get some money in Europe,” Simmons said.

Two years later, having starred in two seasons in Austin, Simmons stands poised for so much more.

When the Spurs break camp and open the regular season later this month, Simmons has a good chance of making the opening-day roster.

“He’s got a promising future,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “He’s very athletic. He can play good defense. He’s a great passer, something I didn’t expect.”

The Spurs have had Simmons on their radar since before he showed up in Austin.

After finishing his college career at Houston in 2012, Simmons participated in a pre-draft camp for the Spurs that summer.

They passed on him, as did 29 other NBA teams, and Simmons wound up playing for something called the Sugar Land Legends of the fledgling American Basketball League.

The Spurs’ front office kept tabs on Simmons after he made the Toros (since renamed the Austin Spurs).

On recommendation from the Austin coaches — who had seen the 6-foot-6 Simmons earn All-Defensive honors in the D-League — the Spurs invited him to a free-agent minicamp in June.

Before the start of Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, the Spurs took the extraordinary step of offering Simmons a guaranteed contract.

Simmons was playing with a Brooklyn Nets squad in the Orlando Summer League when his agent called with the news. The first person he told was his mother, LaTonya, back home in Houston.

“She’s still excited,” Simmons said with a chuckle Monday. “She ain’t calmed down yet.”

Simmons signed a two-year deal, with $525,093 guaranteed for this season. It isn’t LaMarcus Aldridge money, but it does represent a sizable investment in a player who before this year had never been invited to an NBA training camp.

The $874,636 Simmons is owed for 2016-17 is non-guaranteed, allowing the Spurs leeway to hedge their bets.

Simmons’ inexperience has showed at times during his inaugural NBA preseason, which continues Tuesday against Phoenix at the AT&T Center.

Through four games, Simmons has made 1 of 10 shots, totaled nine turnovers and has enjoyed little opportunity to unleash the jaw-dropping athleticism that made him a star of the Spurs’ Summer League squad.

Sunday, with the Spurs clinging to a 96-92 victory over Detroit, Simmons committed a costly turnover, twice fouled the Pistons’ Marcus Morris on a 3-point attempt and rimmed out a quick-trigger 3-pointer of his own.

“I think he’s trying not to make mistakes, and when he does make one, it bothers him a little too much probably,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “But he’s a good player, and we’ll just see how he moves forward.”

Simmons does not disagree with Popovich’s assessment of his mental state.

A player who says he prides himself on keeping his emotions in check — “It’s just basketball,” he says — Simmons acknowledges his eagerness to please might be getting the best of him.

“I have limited space for error,” Simmons said. “I know I should move on to the next play, make it up on defense, but I have higher expectations out of myself. I want it so bad. I just have to relax and move on to the next play.”

Simmons’ hopes for making the team are buoyed by the handful of Spurs staffers he has in his corner.

The guaranteed paycheck doesn’t hurt his chances either.

In a way, Simmons’ approach hasn’t changed since that fall day two years ago, when he drove from Houston to Austin at the hint of a prayer.

He doesn’t know what lies ahead for him, but he is eager to find out.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN