Kyle Anderson

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

I know he performed admirably last year, but Mike Conley Jr. turns 35-years old before this upcoming season begins. He also has two-years, $47-million left on his deal. How much more does he realistically have left in the tank? I honestly have no idea, and it might not even be a legitimate concern, but in addition to the risk with Rudy Gobert's supermax and the outgoing assets required, I just think we'd look back on that deal unfavorably in no more than just a couple years. That's just my personal take on it. I very well could be in the minority.

Wouldn't the point of this type of deal would take advantage of Ant and McDaniels rookie contracts?

I mean you could over spend here. Your moving Kat to the 4 and Gobert has to outproduce any 4 we had last year which I think is a huge gain. How much is a downgrade Connely from DLO?

Lets be honest if Ant and Jaden don't make leaps in there games none of this matter anyway. This is where the gap in production from Pg position comes in. Because those two can definitely fill in that gap.

For record I think the move is Capella if I was running the team.

I agree with you. Capella is the move to make here. I'd go Ayton before gobert also.

[FNG]

The deeper you dig, the better this signing looks.

In 2020/21 season where Kyle Anderson mainly started and averaged 27 minutes these were his stats per game:

12.4 points
5.7 rebounds
3.6 assists
1.2 steals
0.8 blocks
.47 fg
.36 3pt fg (on almost 4 attempts per game)

You average those stats over per 36 mins and they look even better.

Kiwi, it's interesting that Kyle's best season was 2020/21, the season he started 69 games. Although I also note his best rebounding season was last year.

If you don't like how Kyle Anderson plays basketball, you don't like basketball. Sure, he's not exciting, but he's generally consistently effective. And getting PatBev's endorsement on twitter means a lot to me.

That said, I'm on the fence on this deal. I love Kyle's length and superb defense, but he's not an efficient scorer...in fact quite inefficient last season. I guess I was looking for a bigger splash from this new management team, but as others have said, that may still be coming. I'm going to reserve judgement until everything shakes out.

[Q-is-here]

The deeper you dig, the better this signing looks.

In 2020/21 season where Kyle Anderson mainly started and averaged 27 minutes these were his stats per game:

12.4 points
5.7 rebounds
3.6 assists
1.2 steals
0.8 blocks
.47 fg
.36 3pt fg (on almost 4 attempts per game)

You average those stats over per 36 mins and they look even better.

Kiwi, it's interesting that Kyle's best season was 2020/21, the season he started 69 games. Although I also note his best rebounding season was last year.

If you don't like how Kyle Anderson plays basketball, you don't like basketball. Sure, he's not exciting, but he's generally consistently effective. And getting PatBev's endorsement on twitter means a lot to me.

That said, I'm on the fence on this deal. I love Kyle's length and superb defense, but he's not an efficient scorer...in fact quite inefficient last season. I guess I was looking for a bigger splash from this new management team, but as others have said, that may still be coming. I'm going to reserve judgement until everything shakes out.

Yeah, most of the moves so far via the draft (Kessler and Moore) and free agency (Prince and Anderson) feel like "high floor" moves. "By golly we are determined NOT to lose more than 40 games next season!"

Our ceiling is now almost entirely dependent on how Ant and McDaniels perform next season IMO, barring any other big moves.

[Lipoli390]

One thing for sure is that this team is not developing into the fast, athletic up-and-down team that Rosas was envisioning. DLO, KAT and now SLO-MO, along with Kessler, Moore and Nowell suggest something very different. Other than Edwards, we're see the formation of something closer to a grind-it-out half court team.

[Monster]

One thing for sure is that this team is not developing into the fast, athletic up-and-down team that Rosas was envisioning. DLO, KAT and now SLO-MO, along with Kessler, Moore and Nowell suggest something very different. Other than Edwards, we're see the formation of something closer to a grind-it-out half court team.

I'm not sure Kyle Anderson slows anything down despite his nick name. Note that the past 2 seasons Memphis was a fast paced team. Anderson is a PF that can grab the ball and literally bring the ball up the floor like a true PG. Is he the fastest guy in the world? No but he isn't actually that slow he just isn't rushed especially in the half court.

Now I do agree with your idea that the Wolves are not looking to just be an up and down run and fun team they are looking to be one with length and also being a good defensive team. Remember people saying a team can't run with whatever center? Memphis was 3rd in pace last year playing Stephen Adams at center. That type of guy doesn't limit playing at a high pace. If Walker Kessler becomes a starting level player I don't think he keeps the Wolves from still getting up and down the floor.

[Lipoli390]

One thing for sure is that this team is not developing into the fast, athletic up-and-down team that Rosas was envisioning. DLO, KAT and now SLO-MO, along with Kessler, Moore and Nowell suggest something very different. Other than Edwards, we're see the formation of something closer to a grind-it-out half court team.

I'm not sure Kyle Anderson slows anything down despite his nick name. Note that the past 2 seasons Memphis was a fast paced team. Anderson is a PF that can grab the ball and literally bring the ball up the floor like a true PG. Is he the fastest guy in the world? No but he isn't actually that slow he just isn't rushed especially in the half court.

Now I do agree with your idea that the Wolves are not looking to just be an up and down run and fun team they are looking to be one with length and also being a good defensive team. Remember people saying a team can't run with whatever center? Memphis was 3rd in pace last year playing Stephen Adams at center. That type of guy doesn't limit playing at a high pace. If Walker Kessler becomes a starting level player I don't think he keeps the Wolves from still getting up and down the floor.

The Grizzlies pace was set by their super fast PG, Ja Morant. Our lead guard is DLO. Together with KAT, Beverley, Anderson, et al, this is not going to play as fast as Memphis. That doesn't mean the Wolves will never fun out on the break, but it does mean we've not going to be the fast-pace, high-flying athletic team that Rosas envisioned. By the way, it seemed strange to me that Rosas went out of his way to trade for DLO who never fit his purported vision for the team.

[Tactical unit]

I'm a little confused as to why people don't love the K. Anderson addition.

The fit is a veteran that can teach young players how to change gears, use timely body contact along with defenders momentum to create space and open looks. He doesn't have the most athletic profile but his length and basketball IQ are great. He passes well, guards multiple positions, you could be looking at the Wolves starting PF unless they are going to start Kessler next to KAT at PF. Either way I think K. Anderson provides 17-27 solid mins a night. His price is what I like most about the deal, rather cheap for a playoff caliber rotational player that can be trusted.

I know Kyle Anderson isn't the most amazing FA addition but when you consider price and playoff playability he's quite the value and an addition I love for the Wolves.

[Monster]

One thing for sure is that this team is not developing into the fast, athletic up-and-down team that Rosas was envisioning. DLO, KAT and now SLO-MO, along with Kessler, Moore and Nowell suggest something very different. Other than Edwards, we're see the formation of something closer to a grind-it-out half court team.

I'm not sure Kyle Anderson slows anything down despite his nick name. Note that the past 2 seasons Memphis was a fast paced team. Anderson is a PF that can grab the ball and literally bring the ball up the floor like a true PG. Is he the fastest guy in the world? No but he isn't actually that slow he just isn't rushed especially in the half court.

Now I do agree with your idea that the Wolves are not looking to just be an up and down run and fun team they are looking to be one with length and also being a good defensive team. Remember people saying a team can't run with whatever center? Memphis was 3rd in pace last year playing Stephen Adams at center. That type of guy doesn't limit playing at a high pace. If Walker Kessler becomes a starting level player I don't think he keeps the Wolves from still getting up and down the floor.

The Grizzlies pace was set by their super fast PG, Ja Morant. Our lead guard is DLO. Together with KAT, Beverley, Anderson, et al, this is not going to play as fast as Memphis. That doesn't mean the Wolves will never fun out on the break, but it does mean we've not going to be the fast-pace, high-flying athletic team that Rosas envisioned. By the way, it seemed strange to me that Rosas went out of his way to trade for DLO who never fit his purported vision for the team.

The Wolves were #1 in pace last year.

[Lipoli390]

I'm a little confused as to why people don't love the K. Anderson addition.

The fit is a veteran that can teach young players how to change gears, use timely body contact along with defenders momentum to create space and open looks. He doesn't have the most athletic profile but his length and basketball IQ are great. He passes well, guards multiple positions, you could be looking at the Wolves starting PF unless they are going to start Kessler next to KAT at PF. Either way I think K. Anderson provides 17-27 solid mins a night. His price is what I like most about the deal, rather cheap for a playoff caliber rotational player that can be trusted.

I know Kyle Anderson isn't the most amazing FA addition but when you consider price and playoff playability he's quite the value and an addition I love for the Wolves.

I think most of us (maybe all of us) like the Anderson addition. Some and probably most of us don't "love" it because the Wolves used their one meaningful cap exception and last roster spot on a good but not great or exciting player who doesn't fill the Wolves biggest need for a starting rebounding rim-protecting big next to KAT.

But again, not a bad acquisition and it will look better if the Wolves can pull off a good trade to fill their need for a big. My issue is that the Wolves had good free-agent options to get the big they need with the MLE. My concern with relying on trades is that you have to give to get and that makes it hard to achieve net improvement. The Wolves will likely have to move Beasley and Naz to get a high-caliber big like Capela, Myles Turner or Nurkic (sign-and-trade). If that happens, the Wolves will lose their only elite high-volume 3-point shooter in an era when three-point shooting is critical to success. And the Wolves might also have to part with a future 1st-round draft pick as well - maybe multiple picks if they want Gobert.

So I like the Anderson signing because I see the positive things he brings. But I don't love it when I factor in the opportunity costs and more critical need for a big.

[FNG]

I'm a little confused as to why people don't love the K. Anderson addition.

The fit is a veteran that can teach young players how to change gears, use timely body contact along with defenders momentum to create space and open looks. He doesn't have the most athletic profile but his length and basketball IQ are great. He passes well, guards multiple positions, you could be looking at the Wolves starting PF unless they are going to start Kessler next to KAT at PF. Either way I think K. Anderson provides 17-27 solid mins a night. His price is what I like most about the deal, rather cheap for a playoff caliber rotational player that can be trusted.

I know Kyle Anderson isn't the most amazing FA addition but when you consider price and playoff playability he's quite the value and an addition I love for the Wolves.

Your points are well taken TU, and that's why I don't dislike the deal (and my quick read of this thread is that most here are at least marginally on board). I guess the issues that prevent me from "loving" the deal are as follows:

-limited athleticism: of course this is offset by his high basketball IQ
-poor shooting efficiency. his TS% last year of .506 was a full 60 basis points below the league average, and unusually poor for a big. 33% on threes, 48% on 2's and 64% on free throws is not a prescription for offensive success. I think that's why despite his admirable defense, he ranked quite low on the Griz last year in on/off. That surprised me.
-only an average rebounder. his 8.9 per 36 is not great for a PF.

So maybe some others have thoughts about why they may not love the deal. But ultimately, I need to evaluate it in context with moves to come rather than in a vacuum. Miles to go before we sleep, methinks.