There is no "by default". The Spurs listed Anderson as a two-guard for the summer league. That's how they think of him. Sure, they gave him an SF sublisting, but they clearly don't share your opinion.
There's all kinds of foolish, blatantly incorrect listings in the NBA, from heights, to weights, to positions.
It defies logic to think that a player widely believed to be in tough defending SF's, will defend SG's. But believe whatever you want; we'll find out in due time.
Honestly, I'm hoping the Spurs have a vet two-guard off the bench next year. That way, the vet, Anderson and LJC can compete for minutes. The same would be true if a decent guard prospect (like one of the Harrison twins) falls to them next draft. But depending on how things shake out, that may not be possible. If Manu retires and the Spurs use their cap space to replace Tim, then they may not be able to find a good enough guard with the room exception, or they may use the exception on a backup center.
Anderson is a forward in my mind, but everything I've heard from him or the Spurs this off-season suggests he's going to get a shot at guard.
They will, man. There's always lost cost finds to be had. They're not going to go with just Green at SG. Sure, they did with Leonard at SF last season, but at least they could get away with Green, Ginobili and even Belinelli (in some cases) defending the position, in the majority of match-ups. I don't see Anderson being able to defend SG's at all.
Where have you heard that? More importantly, why? When healthy, they have six guards and one SF.
They'll be the opposite roster position next year, with at least three SFs (counting Anderson but not Bertans) and only Green as players who can be reasonably expected to be on the team.
Right now, the 2015 bench would look like this, provided Manu and Beli move on:
Mills, Anderson, Jean-Charles, Diaw, center
I doubt Livio can guard twos (although you never know, since Mbah a Moute could back in the day), but if the only other wings the Spurs get are scrubs like Bogans, then I'd rather see him try. As far as Anderson's ability to guard the two, I think he'd be able to do so in a good number of situations. We're not talking about Monte Ellis here. We're talking about backups. Most teams lack a dangerous backup SG.
IMO, the Spurs will be looking for more of a slasher/fast-footed/dynamic player to play SG in the future, especially with Tony's inevitable slowdown, and the fact that Green isn't super quick to begin with. Right now that guy is Mills.
The reason is you just won't groom a floor general/leader in Manu's mold on short notice, so Anderson won't play Manu's role. The Spurs overall will probably play noticeably different, at least off the bench.
The key to Anderson earning minutes will be working out his 3 point shot. He needs a quicker release. Then he could provide some of what Diaw provides. If that doesn't work out, or his foot speed is a hindrance, all is not lost, I think he could provide some minutes as backup PG, if his passing translates to the pro level. He's obviously a project. I think the Spurs are high on him coming in, but he has a lot of work to do. Luckily, he'll have Chip around to work on his shot.
Maybe, maybe not. No superstar has done it by himself but Ive watched enough of Wade for me to think that when the chips are down, I want him on my side, more than Lebron James even. And that championship with Shaq was ALOT less Shaq than his contribution with Kobe.
However, I never said he was better than Ginobili so don't understand the arguement. My problem was with Bill Simmons statement more than anything. It was just dumb.
Shaq should have won MVP one of those years in Miami. May not have been the year they rung, but they wouldn't have if he weren't on the team.
Let's not all get worked up and start sucking someone's this early.... How about we wait and see how he plays in a real NBA game.
That's if they view Jean-Charles as more SF than PF (and I suspect they don't; the same goes for Bertans). Either way, Anderson can't defend SG's on anything close to a full time basis and I trust that they're intelligent enough to recognize this.
You and too many others seem to be considering one of or both of, Bertans and Jean-Charles, as immediate rotation players, which isn't happening. Not only in their first season, but neither is a guaranteed rotation player going forward period.
As far as SG, look for them to go after a younger player, who's shown some promise and may be on the verge of firmly establishing themselves as a rotation player. A guy like Henry comes to mind.
We have no idea how Anderson is going to fare defensively. Sure, we can see he's not coming out as an elite stopper, but he can perform a lot better than he did with all the Spurs defensive talent around him. He certainly can't be worse than Beli, whom Pop had no problem putting on PGs, SGs and SFs last season.
I doubt the team stacks a bunch of power-forwards only to play two or three. The team won't really have the luxury of having a vet-laden bench if they use their cap space on a star. They will just have to play their young players and hope they can develop. There's no point in having proven scrubs like Henry get minutes over Anderson, Jean-Charles or Bertans. We already know he isn't an NBA-caliber rotation player.
The Spurs re-signing Mills locked them into depending on Anderson to be their bench's perimeter play-maker. So I unless they find a way to draft a two who can run the offense, I think they'll be looking for a three-and-D player to be their other wing. Ideally, that's a player like Crabbe, whom the Blazers may end up cutting soon with all of their perimeter depth. But it's very possible Jean-Charles ends up being the best player for the job playing an Mbah a Moute--like role but with better size and shooting. If so, that means either Diaw plays the five (which he can certainly do against most teams) or Anderson plays the two.
There are a lot of things that can lead to Anderson not playing the two next year. But none of them are terribly likely to happen yet.
To be honest, I'm not concerned about Kyle Anderson's lack of speed and athleticism. He's learned to use his size and length effectively enough to compensate and has obviously developed alot of skills like his excellent handle and smooth jumper. He could be a very unorthodox matchup terror that the Spurs can use. I think he can develop into a big weapon for the Spurs. Tim Duncan was never the quickest or most athletic player either but he also compensated for it with his skills.
Actually, we have an excellent idea how he's going to fare defensively. Belinelli rarely defended PG's, has to defend SG's by default and defended some SF's out of necessity with all the wing injuries and also in the event they were lesser threatening offensive players than the SG. But spotting him based on match-ups is different than having him defend those positions consistently.
Why not? They've done it in the past at various positions. Besides, it's not as if those two can't play SF, if need be. They're going to try to remain as compe ive as possible and playing young, raw players, who are middling prospects to begin with, doesn't fit with that. Look for them to target young veterans who won't break the bank, like Seraphin, Henry, etc.
Exactly and they can find a 3-and-D wing in free agency. Despite having the girth for it in most match-ups, Diaw can't credibly play C, because he can't protect the rim or defensive rebound at an acceptable level. Backup C will be a major need, considering it's unlikely Splitter ever plays true starters minutes.
I couldn't disagree more. I'd be shocked if their plan for '15 is for Anderson (as an SG) and Jean-Charles to be the primary wing backups.
We don't really have any idea, since UCLA didn't really have NBA-caliber bigs, who are just as important to perimeter defense as the actual on-ball defender is. Anderson really didn't do that poorly in the summer league, and he actually had some of the most difficult assignments in the tournament. I actually don't see many legit backup two-guards in the league right now. The only time I think he's going to struggle is when teams run two-PG sets, but even then, it probably won't be Anderson in with Mills rather than Green or Parker.
They usually used overloaded positions to provide depth at other positions. That was the case with De Colo and Joseph playing the two or Beli and Diaw playing the three. That's pretty much what I am saying they're going to do, rather than sign min-salary two-guards.
"Three-and-D" is the new "combo-guard". It's given to a whole bunch of players who can't do anything else well, but who also can't defend or shoot at an elite level. It's hard finding wings who can really have strong impacts in those areas. That's why OKC used two firsts in two years on prospects in that position and why Sefalosha got overpaid this off-season. You most likely won't also find one who's a very strong rebounder like Jean-Charles is. Yes, I agree that backup center is a need, which is why I don't think the Spurs will put their limited resources into getting a wing.
We absolutely have an idea. Anyway, I just don't see it. You have to be a freak athlete to be his size and able to credibly defend guards.
To an extent, sure. But they're still going to bring in a second natural SG. From the mid-aughts on, they've clearly prioritized having a lot of guards who can provide secondary ball handling. I don't see them going away from that all of a sudden; not with the way the game is trending.
True. I just mean someone who doesn't need the ball, can shoot the three at least adequately and at least has the physical tools to be a neutral defender. Rebounding on the wings is far down the priority list, particularly with arguably the best rebounding wing in the league already on the team.
They don't have to pick one or the other. It's not going to cost much to bring in players the caliber of Seraphin and Henry.
I would like to see Hanga get his shot soon. He's getting long in the tooth, but he's pretty good defensively, and he's a pretty good athlete. His shooting may be a little sketchy, but he's more athletic than Belli, Anderson, Green...which would be a nice change of pace. What are the opinions on Hanga? Has that ship sailed?
In the iso league of year's past, that might be true. But in the team-defensively league of today, I think having elite length at the two as well as being very smart is more important than being athletic, especially against backups. Anderson doesn't even after to be a plus defender in his own right. He just has to be able to defend well enough to stay on the floor, like Beli does somehow.
They're trending away from it this year by keeping seven bigs while only having two healthy PGs. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they bring in another two-guard, but that player's not likely to beat out Anderson/Jean-Charles. The SG FA class is really weak next year. It would be nice for them to bring one over from Europe or something, but they won't find a good domestic one at a reasonable rate. Look at what scrubs like Meeks got.
You just said that Diaw was a poor rebounder for a big, so having a small-forward who is a great positional rebounder would be huge. He and Anderson be able to make up for Diaw's production and even take pressure of them to find a rebounding center (like a Reggie Evans). Also remember that this supposes that Tim retires, so his dominant per-minute rebounding would also be gone.
Seraphin is making about $4 Million this season. He probably won't play a whole lot, but he'll still get at least room-exception money in 2015. I could see Henry commanding the same, and obviously since I don't think Henry is good enough, anyone better than him would command more than the room exception.
He was always unlikely to ever play in the league and I doubt anything has changed on that front.
Even if he could, I fail to see a viable reason as to why they would attempt to shoehorn him into being an SG. Jean-Charles/Bertans are middling prospects and there's no reason they can't afford someone of or slightly beneath Belinelli's caliber.
They're not. Almost every perimeter player on the team provides at least secondary ball handling. Weak class or not, it's a clear need and one I expect them to prioritize and fill. It could easily be as simple as Ginobili deciding to play another season, in which case it doesn't become an issue for another year.
How the pieces fit offensively/defensively matters most. Plus, with Anderson's length, he might be a solid defensive rebounding wing and Diaw will likely continue to play a good amount alongside Leonard.
Maybe not. Look at Udoh; he's still unsigned and is probably looking at a minimum deal at this point. Davis already got the minimum. I realize Seraphin is more of a C, but still. They can probably split the MLE on two players of Seraphin's and Henry's caliber.
Anderson is a guard offensively. The Spurs will have plenty of forwards next season. So it's not really shoehorning him into anything. If he can defend the two, I am almost certain that's where he's going to play. That's just what his skill-set calls for right now. LJC and Bertans are about as good of prospects as any of the Spurs have drafted over the past few years with the exception of Leonard. Especially Jean-Charles is up there with Kyle Anderson. In a normal year, the Spurs would almost certainly spend the MLE to get another bench guard. But if next off-season is all about finding a max player to play the four, they won't have the cash to do so. They'll have to rely on their young players to carry their bench.
That's stretching it. Players like Green are rare in the NBA. Most legit wings can handle the ball as well as Leonard or Beli can. Outside of Manu, none of the wings can play the point, however. Obviously, Manu (or Duncan) coming back changes the whole alchemy of the roster. No one's disputing that. Anderson would compete for SF minutes if Ginobili is still around.
Anderson should be a fine rebounder in the NBA. That's not the question. The question is if LJC's rebounding would be redundant on the bench. It wouldn't. Right now, we're talking about a Mills/Anderson/Jean-Charles/Diaw/X lineup. We have no idea who that 'X' will be, so we can't really assume there will be more than two strong rebounders off the bench for now.
If we're talking MLE, a lot of things would have to end up going differently. Tim and Manu would have to come back, or the Spurs would have to trade for significant 2015 salary (like moving Ayres, Beli and Daye for Martin or Ilyasova) and extending Leonard. I can't imagine the team really having any big holes at all if they go into next July over the cap. Speaking of Udoh, I'm pretty surprised his name hasn't really come up this season. He's easily a better player than Baynes or Ayres since Jeff can't hit a jump shot.
I always assumed it was unlikely based upon his draft position, yet I keep hearing his name and NBA mentioned in the same sentence here and there. Usually, in regard to him not being ready, YET, and/or injury related. But, it just seems like there is some small underlying expectation that he may come. Whether it is him, or someone else, it would be nice to have someone in that mold when Ginobili hangs it up. Just like having a team full of extreme athletes doesn't necessarily win games, having zero extreme athletes doesn't necessarily give Pop as diverse a toolbox to win games with either.
That's today's league too... these Spurs were just an absolute aberration. It's incredibly difficult to do what the Spurs did, and involve arcane things (to this league anyways) like all players buying in, a respected coach that can make sure no player gets outta line, players checking their egos at the door. As it was said during the NBA Finals, the Spurs cornered the market on pure of heart guys. But it's very rare that all pieces end up fitting like that, and a single 'bad' piece or two can completely derail it. The last team I remember playing like that was the ARG NT in their gold run back in 2004 (Pop was Team USA's assistant coach for that team and the similarities in gameplay between that ARG team and the current Spurs are uncanny).
The league is going to keep being iso heavy and P&R heavy. This league isn't moving towards 'team play', it's sticking with athleticism. There will be tweaks depending on what works: the 'modern' NBA is defined by the stretch 4, solid 3 point shooting, etc. Changes on pace will be always there, swinging between the Don Nelson/SSOL to the Grizzlies style low pace. But other than that, don't expect many teams, including the Spurs of the future, to play heavy team-ball...
Talking more about defense. With the changes to hand-checking and illegal defense, players don't defend as much one on one anymore. While some teams call a lot of iso plays, good teams still defend with five guys.
Plus, do you really think teams are going to make their bench attack about isolating their backup two-guard consistently? I think there are very few second-string SGs who are really going to be a huge mismatch for Anderson.
One on one defense will always be here. There has always been solid one on one defenders, although right now it's more of a problem of players not embracing the role more than anything else. But the Ariza, Batum, Green are replacing the old school of Artest, Battier, Tony Allen...
Regardless of that, I do think most teams field bad defensive, but good offensive players for stretches. I don't think that would be a problem for playing Anderson, in any position, really.
What I guess I still don't understand is what's the endgame you see for Anderson as a Spur? I suspect they expect more than just being a backup SG when he's done with his rookie deal?
I think the Spurs will always value bench players. I think the team would love for Anderson to be able to play any of the middle positions and fit in with any unit. He could play at guard for the next couple of years before becoming a forward once Diaw moves on. Eventually, he could be a four if he bulks up and works on his post game. Or he may just play guard his whole career if the team consistently fields a strong bench front court.
I think the Spurs hope he can be the ultimate complimentary player. He can potentially fill a lot of holes and give the team a ton of flexibility next year.
I don't see it. Long term, if he's as good as advertised, he'll be too expensive to keep as a bench player. The ugly flipside would be that he's not that good. IMO, you can't think in terms of Manu's selflessness (great players sticking around willingly embracing a 6th man role at the sunrise of their careers). Even Manu was a starter at the apex of his NBA career, and 9.9/10 players would've bolted if they were sent to the bench playing at that level. What's more normal is for players to embrace those roles in the downside of their careers (Jamal Crawford, Mo Williams, etc).
I expect the Spurs to start developing him this season at the position they want him to play long term. Right now, I'm leaning front court, backing up Kawhi and Diaw.
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