Spurs are 5-0...

Zach Lowe talked about KA recently in his "10 things":

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8. Slo-Mo, petering out early?

The Spurs bench is doing its usual thing, in part because Gregg Popovich is smart about keeping a starter out there with them, but it feels a little rickety this time around. How many of these guys beyond Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills do you trust -- and how many will Popovich trust -- when the games really matter?
A lot of this queasy feeling comes down to Slo-Mo just not happening yet. Kyle Anderson still can't shoot, he never gets to the line, and he's too sluggish off the bounce to scoot by anyone -- and let his passing skills sing. The Spurs need someone off the bench to pop, and they were hoping it would be Anderson. Jonathon Simmons has passed him in the rotation, but Simmons has fallen back to Earth after his out-of-body experience against Golden State in the opener.

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http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...j-mccollum-nba

ESPN advertised this part as "Pessimism for Slo-Mo", so I guess we're not the only ones who noticed that his game hasn't improved after his first few years in the NBA. He's a proven fringe NBA player at this point, but I'm afraid he doesn't have the "plug & play" set of basic skills to even become a journeyman in the league.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

SAG, you're freaking out for no reason, writing his eulogy. Anderson will play a lot of minutes this year (pause for gasps). He's still the 11th man. He will have time to prove himself again. They just guaranteed him $2-plus Million for next year. He'll be in the plans for a while, despite the suggestion that they should dump him for a pick. He just has to get it. He's running out of chances to do so, but he still have some. That doesn't mean he has to shoot every three he looks at. It just means he has to not defer. Until Pop tells him he's shooting too much, forcing things too much, he's being too passive. That's not something that takes a Lifetime movie to figure out. It'll just click if it happens, whether in SA or on a different team.

We are one fifth of the way through the penultimate season of his rookie contract. At this point in Cory's career, he had picked up four DNPs and was averaging 3/1/1 with no defensive stats, 43-percent shooting and no threes made. He was relegated only to garbage time, averaging under six minutes a game. Yet there were some of us on this site who liked him and wanted him to play more, and there were plenty, plenty of posters who wrote him off. Cory's problems were almost identical to Anderson's. He got over it eventually.

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You are probably right. My opinion is definitely colored by disappointment with his desire to shoot. So far they have been fine.

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Originally Posted by cjw

After almost 30 months as part of the Spurs' franchise, he's shown no improvement in shooting (accuracy or ability to get shot off) and just marginal improvement elsewhere despite PATFO's coddling. Adequate spot game action in the NBA, plenty of burn in the D League and the best shooting coach in the league (plus deep staff), and nothing. Not fair to compare him to James Anderson who suffered a substantial injury prior to establishing himself.

We've gotten to the point where his minutes are so empty that they can be the margin between winning or losing and the staff sees no upside in developing his game. No more trips up to Austin to play JV competition.

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The comparison wasn't between Kyle and James; it was between the situation with James/Green and Kyle/Simmons/Bertans. The Spurs were desperately hoping to get a long-term starter at the two with their pick (still their highest natural selection since Tim). James busted, but that was okay since they happened to find a d-leaguer who was able to more than adequately fill the role they envisioned for James.

With Kyle, it's different because they wanted him to be a sixth-man caliber player and a consistent offensive presence. He hasn't done that, and no one else on the bench has either. So while it's easy to move on from the James Anderson pick (and the fact that there wasn't really anyone drafted after him that was any good), the Kyle Anderson experiment failing so far continues to stick with the team. It was never about him versus those guys; it was about what he was supposed to bring against what the team is currently getting out of their bench.

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Originally Posted by SAGirl

Every rookie needs time to adapt and develop anyways, and on top of that he had to change his game but whatever. If you don't think he had a successful second season you are trolling.

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You're evading the question. Again: 2+ seasons, in addition to 2 seasons in college and he's supposedly a high IQ player, so how long is it supposed to take to look competent?

I don't think he had a successful second season and I'm not trolling.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

You're evading the question. Again: 2+ seasons, in addition to 2 seasons in college and he's supposedly a high IQ player, so how long is it supposed to take to look competent?

I don't think he had a successful second season and I'm not trolling.

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A successful season by "his standards". Not actual comparisons to other NBA players. :lol

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Originally Posted by TD 21

You're evading the question. Again: 2+ seasons, in addition to 2 seasons in college and he's supposedly a high IQ player, so how long is it supposed to take to look competent?

I don't think he had a successful second season and I'm not trolling.

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It's fine to differ in opinion but I would have been glad to get the Kyle that finished last season playing 20 minutes per game and being a positive contributor back, which he was. I only expected really, improvements in his 3 pt shooting which were not unrealistic expectations based on his shooting in summer league. He has obviously not been that player and that is that. Not going to say much more than that bc I am very tired of chatting about it.

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Originally Posted by SAGirl

It's fine to differ in opinion but I would have been glad to get the Kyle that finished last season playing 20 minutes per game and being a positive contributor back, which he was. I only expected really, improvements in his 3 pt shooting which were not unrealistic expectations based on his shooting in summer league. He has obviously not been that player and that is that. Not going to say much more than that bc I am very tired of chatting about it.

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I don't think there's nearly as much of a difference as you do. He's more passive, but a lot of that was probably because the majority of his minutes came with the starters. Otherwise, no matter who he plays with, he's the same awkward fit and provides nothing the team needs from a player in his role.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

I don't think there's nearly as much of a difference as you do. He's more passive, but a lot of that was probably because the majority of his minutes came with the starters. Otherwise, no matter who he plays with, he's the same awkward fit and provides nothing the team needs from a player in his role.

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He has disappointed this season in not making developments I expected and that is significant for his game, so it all starts there. The past is the past, but I didn't think he was as useless as you thought in the past. You'd have to be realistic and realize his age, his pecking order, the leap that it is from college to the nba and the complete overhaul that his game needed and he tried to do in the dleague his rook season. I thought he did as well as I expected. He was solid, not a mistake plagued player and got better with more confidence. A 3 pt shot would have helped inmensely, but it didn't happen and this season he's off to a poor start. I am just to worn out to care about any of this or to articulate much at this point. What matters is the present anyways and he hasn't been playing that well.

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Originally Posted by SAGirl

He has disappointed this season in not making developments I expected and that is significant for his game, so it all starts there. The past is the past, but I didn't think he was as useless as you thought in the past. You'd have to be realistic and realize his age, his pecking order, the leap that it is from college to the nba and the complete overhaul that his game needed and he tried to do in the dleague his rook season. I thought he did as well as I expected. He was solid, not a mistake plagued player and got better with more confidence. A 3 pt shot would have helped inmensely, but it didn't happen and this season he's off to a poor start. I am just to worn out to care about any of this or to articulate much at this point. What matters is the present anyways and he hasn't been playing that well.

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I'm a firm believer that most players, even the raw, clearly not ready types, show glimpses immediately of what is possible. I never saw it with him, but I did with almost every other young or unproven player that's made a positive impact with the Spurs in recent years. All I want to see out of most young or unproven players or role players period, is someone who has a niche and he doesn't.

I know the back and forth is fun, but the attention Kyle gets is borderline bizarre. He is a versatile player that is fine as a 10-11th man. If he is ever a starter or one of the first few guys off the bench for an NBA team, that NBA team is going to lose more than they win. He is a good ball player with length and craftiness and decent all around skills. That makes him a star in the D League. Without a near elite skill/talent though, versatile 10-11th man (on a good team) is his NBA ceiling, IMO. Yeah, he might shine in a game or two against scrubs or even in the right situation when matchups are favorable. He will make a few good plays here and there, but his weaknesses are too glaring. He would be feasted upon by good competition in the long run.

SAGirl, you are right about him still being young. He likely will improve. The problem is any improvement will be marginal at best. He has had ample opportunity to prove that wrong. He hasn't.

James Anderson was mentioned in this thread. He had a career high of 36 points and he was out of the league a year later. Showing Kylights of one game to convince people of what he could be provides very limited credence to the argument.

Just my opinion. I don't have the analytical skills some of you all have. This is just what my eyes tell me.

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Originally Posted by MVPCues

I know the back and forth is fun, but the attention Kyle gets is borderline bizarre. He is a versatile player that is fine as a 10-11th man. If he is ever a starter or one of the first few guys off the bench for an NBA team, that NBA team is going to lose more than they win. He is a good ball player with length and craftiness and decent all around skills. That makes him a star in the D League. Without a near elite skill/talent though, versatile 10-11th man (on a good team) is his NBA ceiling, IMO. Yeah, he might shine in a game or two against scrubs or even in the right situation when matchups are favorable. He will make a few good plays here and there, but his weaknesses are too glaring. He would be feasted upon by good competition in the long run.

SAGirl, you are right about him still being young. He likely will improve. The problem is any improvement will be marginal at best. He has had ample opportunity to prove that wrong. He hasn't.

James Anderson was mentioned in this thread. He had a career high of 36 points and he was out of the league a year later. Showing Kylights of one game to convince people of what he could be provides very limited credence to the argument.

Just my opinion. I don't have the analytical skills some of you all have. This is just what my eyes tell me.

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Thanks for sharing. :tu
I am still a fan who thinks he can be an NBA player... to presume he showed nothing last season is just too extremely swung on the negative side, a feature of this board.

Anyways, I am mostly responding to let you know I myself am worn out too. I showed kylights more than anything bc its obvious some guys think he's completely useless and that is not true... but also bc I am tired of chatting about it. I reply to be polite at times and ocassionally something interests me, but that is it. It's been bizarre.

As much as I don't want to defend kyle, he's a late first round pick doing what late first round picks do.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

The comparison wasn't between Kyle and James; it was between the situation with James/Green and Kyle/Simmons/Bertans. The Spurs were desperately hoping to get a long-term starter at the two with their pick (still their highest natural selection since Tim). James busted, but that was okay since they happened to find a d-leaguer who was able to more than adequately fill the role they envisioned for James.

With Kyle, it's different because they wanted him to be a sixth-man caliber player and a consistent offensive presence. He hasn't done that, and no one else on the bench has either. So while it's easy to move on from the James Anderson pick (and the fact that there wasn't really anyone drafted after him that was any good), the Kyle Anderson experiment failing so far continues to stick with the team. It was never about him versus those guys; it was about what he was supposed to bring against what the team is currently getting out of their bench.

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Agree. The guys competing for roster spots were uncompelling - a former first rounder in LJC that was so bad that the Spurs ate two years of salary to replace him with a 15th man PG (though maybe Nico makes team before Forbes). If the right move avails itself, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Spurs dump him for a top 57 protected pick just to free up the roster spot. It's just too bad his salary won't fetch much in return.

I hope I'm totally wrong and he surprises all of us, but the clock has to be ticking. The fact that he can't even be what amounts to the emergency PG (behind Parker, Mills and Manu in a bind) and they needed Nico, who will not see postseason minutes, speaks volumes to me. Though we know Pop likes those Jacque Vaughn and Chris Quinn end of bench guys.

I don't make much of the Spurs exercising his fourth year option just a month ago given the low dollar value he carries. Free option and shouldn't have trouble moving him if they had to.

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Originally Posted by MaNu4Tres

No team would ever double team Kyle Anderson.

No team in the NBA is bad enough for Anderson to be the lead initiator for a bench either.

Kyle will be in Europe or in China in 2-3 years.

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100% on the doubling.

I don't remember Anderson being doubled ever. He's always allowed to get his shot his way. A slow, hunchbacked dribble into a fadeaway. Every once in a while a defender falls asleep and his man cuts and Anderson can pass to them.

Had hopes for this kid when they drafted him TBH.