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Interesting tidbits though the piece may be characterized an editorial by the author, still:
We have to keep in mind this dude is just 22 years old. I doubt very much he's included in any trade package deals because he probably is not worth as much to anyone else as he is to the Spurs at this point. He thrives in our defensive system, if you leave him out on an island, he won't do well, but in our system he's basically a defensive star. So much for all those who continue to claim for an athletic wing blah blah... athletic is J.Simms and he's not on Anderson's level as a defender.Anderson has just finished up his sop re campaign for the Spurs, and his improvements have been drastic. He has made progress in nearly every offensive category, and as the Spurs have heaped more responsibility on him, Anderson has responded with strong performances.
Anderson has the potential to blossom in the next few seasons. With both Diaw and David West approaching their shelf life in the league, the Spurs are looking for Anderson to become the primary front court player off the bench. His versatility can come in handy as a reserve for either Kawhi Leonard or LaMarcus Aldridge, given his ability to play either forward position.
Despite his lack of athleticism, his defensive metrics have looked impressive. His Defensive Box Plus/Minus increased from a solid 2.4 during his rookie season to 3.7 this season. On the best defensive team in the NBA, Anderson played a key role off the bench in maintaining that defensive tenacity. Only Tim Duncan had a higher Defensive Box Plus/Minus on the team than Anderson, meaning that he ranked ahead of defensive maestros Leonard, West, and Danny Green.
He ranked 7th on the team in Defensive Win Shares despite ranking only 11th on the team in minutes per game, proving his significant impact in limited minutes. His 7’3 wingspan allows him to effectively clog passing lanes and disrupt an opposing team’s offensive rhythm, as well as partially remedy his lack of quickness.
He may not have the strength to defend huge power forwards down on the block or have the natural agility to intimidate opposing wings looking to push the tempo against him, but he brings a unique dexterity to the game around him.
Anderson’s development as a shooter will be interesting to do ent. Assistant coach Chip Engelland did wonders by working with Leonard to improve his range, so there’s no reason to believe that Anderson can’t also enhance his shooting with perseverance and great tutelage. While Anderson’s assumed progression on both ends of the court is based largely on precedence from examples within the organization, he’s still shown enough individually to promote this optimism.
Anderson’s field goal percentage this season jumped about 12 points compared to his rookie season, and his 3-point field goal percentage jumped 5 points in that same time period. He shot 6-11 on right corner 3s this season, which may be an indication that he can develop more confidence in that shot to deploy it more often.
His midrange shooting in particular improved dramatically this past season. Curiously, his baseline midrange jumper has been poor throughout his NBA career as of now, but he’s making progress near the top of the key.
In fact, when isolating his midrange shots excluding the two baseline areas, Anderson had a very good year shooting the ball from that general distance. He shot 38 for 80 from either the top of the key or the areas around the elbow inside the 3-point line but not in the key.
When he stays out from the baseline, he’s become an above average shooter. His range hasn’t extended reliably beyond 20 feet yet, but given proper time and coaching it may continue to expand.
Anderson brings very idiosyncratic skills as a facilitating forward who can run an offense. He’ll be looked upon to replace Diaw as the Spurs’ point forward off the bench in the near future, and the progression that Anderson has made during his short time in the league speaks highly about the player he’ll continue to evolve into.
He has also improved his shooting this season and there is hope his shooting will continue to extend in range. He's not yet where we need him to be but he has improved from season 1 to 2.
His versatility is also of a lot of usefulness to us. Outside of Kawhi we don't have another player like him in terms of how versatile they are and the ways they can potentially be played in our system.
His point forward skills need a coach and system that values that kind of skill in the way a point forward like Diaw once unlocked possibilities for others that were not there without his versatile scoring and passing.
