Elhassan of ESPN on the Anderson bandwagon

[Rummpd]

Which team or player was the biggest winner of the draft?


http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/11140697/nba-draft-nba-front-office-debates-draft-winners-losers-more

Amin Elhassan: I can't think of a better fit than Kyle Anderson to the Spurs, because he went to the one team that could extract maximum benefit from his abilities, and they got a high-IQ guy (maybe highest in this draft) who "gets" how they play. The irony of course is if he went higher, he would have landed in a worse situation and maybe wouldn't even develop. Literally might be the difference between having a 12-plus year career and being out of the league before the end of his rookie-scale contract.


Which pick was the biggest steal of the draft?







Elhassan: Besides Anderson, I have to go with Denver snatching Nurkic at No. 16 and Harris at No. 19. Harris was closely compared to Nik Stauskas as far as caliber of talent, and yet he was selected 11 picks after Stauskas. The Nuggets traded their lottery pick and ended up getting two lottery talents out of it.

[xmas1997]

There are lots of sportscasters saying this very same thing.
But all of them are wrong and the armchair poopooing fans on ST are right and know better.
Go figure!

[ceperez]

Which team or player was the biggest winner of the draft?


http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/11140697/nba-draft-nba-front-office-debates-draft-winners-losers-more

Amin Elhassan: I can't think of a better fit than Kyle Anderson to the Spurs, because he went to the one team that could extract maximum benefit from his abilities, and they got a high-IQ guy (maybe highest in this draft) who "gets" how they play. The irony of course is if he went higher, he would have landed in a worse situation and maybe wouldn't even develop. Literally might be the difference between having a 12-plus year career and being out of the league before the end of his rookie-scale contract.



Well that is indeed harsh. Get drafted by the wrong team and you'll end up out of the NBA and playing elsewhere in the world.

Austin Daye is near the end of this rope, if the Spurs don't guarantee his contract in 2 days, he may find himself forever out of the NBA.

[KL2]

I fully agree, SA is the perfect place for him, they can truly bring out his full potential

[xmas1997]

Well that is indeed harsh. Get drafted by the wrong team and you'll end up out of the NBA and playing elsewhere in the world.

Austin Daye is near the end of this rope, if the Spurs don't guarantee his contract in 2 days, he may find himself forever out of the NBA.

I'm really curious to see the changes, if any, the Spurs make this year.
They usually keep the same team, barring retirements, to give them an opportunity to repeat.

[AztecSpur]

Aztecs beat UCLA when Anderson was a freshman, and I also saw him play this year in the NCAA playoffs, he's a pure shooter who sits back and waits for his openings. Definitely doesn't have Kawhi's motor, and he doesn't bang the boards.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Well that is indeed harsh. Get drafted by the wrong team and you'll end up out of the NBA and playing elsewhere in the world.

Austin Daye is near the end of this rope, if the Spurs don't guarantee his contract in 2 days, he may find himself forever out of the NBA.

Green, mills , Sjax, Baynes, Neal, Temple, Gee, etc. where all guys that are in the league and their careers would probably over if not for the Spurs. Spurs are hands down the best team at developing players.

[exstatic]

Aztecs beat UCLA when Anderson was a freshman, and I also saw him play this year in the NCAA playoffs, he's a pure shooter who sits back and waits for his openings. Definitely doesn't have Kawhi's motor, and he doesn't bang the boards.

From what you saw in one game, but I beg to differ. He averaged over 8 boards a game in BOTH of his UCLA seasons, and had 7.5 defensive boards last year, something the Spurs really stress. I honestly would have drafted him at 30 just for his rebounding.

[Mr. Body]

Aztecs beat UCLA when Anderson was a freshman, and I also saw him play this year in the NCAA playoffs, he's a pure shooter who sits back and waits for his openings. Definitely doesn't have Kawhi's motor, and he doesn't bang the boards.

He made a good leap in all areas in his sophomore season. He was also used much more effectively.

[bobcatfan4life]

I wouldn't take anything that Elhassan says seriously.

[mudyez]

Well that is indeed harsh. Get drafted by the wrong team and you'll end up out of the NBA and playing elsewhere in the world.


Regarding this I love this piece:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-kawhi-leonard-conundrum-and-why-life-is-unfair/

[Bartleby]

From what you saw in one game, but I beg to differ. He averaged over 8 boards a game in BOTH of his UCLA seasons, and had 7.5 defensive boards last year, something the Spurs really stress. I honestly would have drafted him at 30 just for his rebounding.

Hopefully his defensive rebounding from college translates over to the NBA. Having a guy with both passing and defensive rebounding skills could generate a lot of long outlet passes and fast breaks.

[Capt Bringdown]

Hoping for the best, but the dude looks a little soft in the shoulders for an NBA career.

[exstatic]

Hopefully his defensive rebounding from college translates over to the NBA. Having a guy with both passing and defensive rebounding skills could generate a lot of long outlet passes and fast breaks.

Rebounding and three point shooting are the two stats that most readily translate from one level to the next in basketball.

[palangi]

Aztecs beat UCLA when Anderson was a freshman, and I also saw him play this year in the NCAA playoffs, he's a pure shooter who sits back and waits for his openings. Definitely doesn't have Kawhi's motor, and he doesn't bang the boards.

I am also a University of Utah fan and got to watch Kyle the past two years. This was a great pick. His rebounding is very solid. I don't get your criticism at all?

[tholdren]

Green, mills , Sjax, Baynes, Neal, Temple, Gee, etc. where all guys that are in the league and their careers would probably over if not for the Spurs. Spurs are hands down the best team at developing players.

What?

[tholdren]

Rebounding and three point shooting are the two stats that most readily translate from one level to the next in basketball.
how do you come to this conclusion?

[2centsworth]

Green, mills , Sjax, Baynes, Neal, Temple, Gee, etc. where all guys that are in the league and their careers would probably over if not for the Spurs. Spurs are hands down the best team at developing players.:toast

[exstatic]

how do you come to this conclusion?

Hollinger's draft analysis over the years. Definitely worth the reading.

[cd021]

Hopefully his defensive rebounding from college translates over to the NBA. Having a guy with both passing and defensive rebounding skills could generate a lot of long outlet passes and fast breaks.

Normally passing is the one that translates well to the NBA. So i believe he will be good on the glass.

[cjw]

From what you saw in one game, but I beg to differ. He averaged over 8 boards a game in BOTH of his UCLA seasons, and had 7.5 defensive boards last year, something the Spurs really stress. I honestly would have drafted him at 30 just for his rebounding.

Exactly, and he's got a myriad of other skills to boot. As has been said over and over again, you can't teach rebounding and good college rebounders typically translate well to the pros. A guy listed as a guard (we know he's a tweeter) who is 42nd in the nation where few of the guys above him play in a major conference deserves to go very early in the draft. Only thing holding him back is his mobility on D.

Put him on the weakest perimeter guy and let him poach some steals (those numbers are good vs. other draftees with bad defensive reps) and allow him to crash the defensive glass. He may come into the league as a better rebounder than Boris. A bench group of Mills-Manu-Marco-Anderson-Diaw-Baynes-Splitter (depends on if Diaw or Splitter starts) plus whoever is grabbed with the MLE is plain scary. Not to mention CoJo will be in a battle to dress each night.

[KaiRMD1]

Aztecs beat UCLA when Anderson was a freshman, and I also saw him play this year in the NCAA playoffs, he's a pure shooter who sits back and waits for his openings. Definitely doesn't have Kawhi's motor, and he doesn't bang the boards.

If he keeps that mentality, he may not last very long

[tmtcsc]

This guy's upside is to be another Paul Pressey but 4 inches taller and a little more versatility.

[Steve-O-Matic]

Aztecs beat UCLA when Anderson was a freshman, and I also saw him play this year in the NCAA playoffs, he's a pure shooter who sits back and waits for his openings. Definitely doesn't have Kawhi's motor, and he doesn't bang the boards.

Umm, he averaged nearly 9 boards a game as ostensibly a point guard, so please stop making pretentious posts about things you clearly don't understand.

[exstatic]

This guy's upside is to be another Paul Pressey but 4 inches taller and a little more versatility.

He's bigger than Pressey, rebounds better, and shoots better. Not the defender, though.

Pressey played for 11 years. Even if that's Kyle's ceiling, and I don't believe that for a minute, you're talking a decade plus career for a 30th pick.

[Steve-O-Matic]

I don't agree with the Paul Pressey comp either. Just because they're both considered point forwards doesn't make them similar players. To me, Anderson is more like a less athletic Jalen Rose.

[2centsworth]

I don't agree with the Paul Pressey comp either. Just because they're both considered point forwards doesn't make them similar players. To me, Anderson is more like a less athletic Jalen Rose.

Jalen was a sub-par jump shooter and rebounder.

[Steve-O-Matic]

And Anderson isn't known for his perimeter shooting either, though he did improve as a sophomore in a small sample size. We can agree to disagree on Rose's rebounding. The point is they're very similar players, not exact carbon copies in every single solitary facet. No two players are.

[2centsworth]

Boris is an excellent comparison imo.

[2centsworth]

I don't agree with the Paul Pressey comp either. Just because they're both considered point forwards doesn't make them similar players. To me, Anderson is more like a less athletic Jalen Rose.

Jalen never shot higher than 35% from 3 in 3 college years and rebounded at about 4rbs per game. Not knocking Jalen, but his game was different.

[Steve-O-Matic]

Jalen never shot higher than 35% from 3 in 3 college years and rebounded at about 4rbs per game. Not knocking Jalen, but his game was different.
Like I said, we can agree to disagree on this one.

[Mr. Body]

Don't worry about his rebounding. UCLA was weak in size so his numbers are a bit inflated, but one game his freshman year, in fact his entire freshman year when he was greatly back seated for the likes of Shabazz Muhammed should be weighed with a grain of salt.

[spurraider21]

I think the best comparison I've heard was Turkoglu. There aren't too many point forward types to come out recently, so a lot of comparisons are forced. People mention Jalen Rose, Evan Turner, Gordon Hayward. Of course we all think of Diaw too. Of course that's not to say he'll have the success of some of those names, but as far as his skill set and style of play

[2centsworth]

How about a bigger Mark Jackson. IQ and passing ability off the charts.

[lmbebo]

I think it all depends on how he is used. I think he's a guy that needs the ball in his hands. Which is fine. Can see him starting to take over the playmaker position off of the bench hopefully in the future. He could allow you to keep someone like patty mills as just a quick and small scoring guard. He can create for over people.

Spurs pass a ton, but you also got players who can make passing plays: Manu, Diaw, Parker (Kwahi at a elementary level...I think he's learning to try and do this). Anderson could slide into that roll when Manu injuries himself next year after playing for Argentina again ..

[Vic Petro]

How about a bigger Mark Jackson. IQ and passing ability off the charts.

Tyler Ennis' game actually reminds me a lot of Mark Jackson. Anderson has some Penny Hardaway to his game. Minus the athleticism obviously.

[Darkwaters]

Unfortunately, we hear this same "analysis" just about every year. Crediting the Spurs with a smart and savvy draft is about as fresh as saying they're old, boring and unathletic. While I personally agree with the sentiment this year, this general statement can easily be crafted most years in relation to Spurs draftees.

[kobyz]

There is a lot similarity to drafting Blair, high profile prospect who slip on draft day because of question mark... Slow mo like teddy Blair has glaring disadvantage that makes him a high risk to translate to the Nba game, there is a good chance that like Blair he will become doing more bad than good Nba player!

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

What?

Did you just wake up from under a rock. Green cut by Cavs and ths Spurs twice. Coach Roy had to call Pop to give him another shot. Neal, undrafted and Spurs scouted him in Europe. Mills out of the
league and given another shot bc of coach Brown. Same goes for Baynes. Temple and Gee are in the league due to playing decently while with the Spurs.

Seriously kid, go educate yourself before posting on this board. There is a thing called researching the Internet to find answers.

[tholdren]

Did you just wake up from under a rock. Green cut by Cavs and ths Spurs twice. Coach Roy had to call Pop to give him another shot. Neal, undrafted and Spurs scouted him in Europe. Mills out of the
league and given another shot bc of coach Brown. Same goes for Baynes. Temple and Gee are in the league due to playing decently while with the Spurs.

Seriously kid, go educate yourself before posting on this board. There is a thing called researching the Internet to find answers.


Green, mills , Sjax, Baynes, Neal, Temple, Gee, etc. where all guys that are in the league and their careers would probably over if not for the Spurs. Spurs are hands down the best team at developing players.

[tmtcsc]

He's bigger than Pressey, rebounds better, and shoots better. Not the defender, though.

Pressey played for 11 years. Even if that's Kyle's ceiling, and I don't believe that for a minute, you're talking a decade plus career for a 30th pick.
My comments were intended to be a compliment. If you get a player similar to Pressley with the 30th pick, you are in good shape.

Pressley could defend 1-3 and was an extremely smart floor general. He had great floor awareness and was unselfish. He seemed to always make the right play.

[Russ]

Lamar Odom with a brain.

He looks slow but he gets where he wants to go. Sometimes big guys look slow when they're really just smooth.