JULY 9, 10:55pm: The signing is official, according to a Grizzlies press release, after the Spurs declined to match.
JULY 6, 8:27pm: Spurs swingman Kyle Anderson has signed a four-year, $37.2MM offer sheet with the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. San Antonio has 48 hours to match the offer, which includes a 15 percent trade kicker, on the restricted free agent.
The Grizzlies will use their full mid-level exception on Anderson and become hard-capped if San Antonio fails to match, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
The Grizzlies targeted Anderson in their quest to upgrade at small forward, Wojnarowski continues. Anderson averaged 7.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 26.7 MPG last season. He started 67 of 74 games with Kawhi Leonard sidelined for all but nine games with a quad injury.
The 6’9” Anderson is entering his fifth season in the league and the Spurs have been positive about retaining him, Wojnarowski adds. He’s been a rotation player the last three seasons but has never posted big numbers. He is considered a superior defender, which attracted Memphis’ attention as it tries to restore a defensive mindset.
Less than $10M a year for Anderson, would be surprised if Spurs don’t match it.
Agree. He’s an outstanding D player.
yeah. That’s an easy match for the Spurs. Good keep.
If this was a year ago, I would have said they shouldn’t match, but he improved significantly defensively, and this is now an absolute must match for San Antonio. He could provide a ton of surplus value, and he is pretty skilled
His defense is good, but it’s really his basketball IQ that is off the charts. He is an amazing passer and impacts the team doing a little bit of everything. He is a super underrated player, hope the spurs can keep him.
Have lost Parker already, borderline losing Leonard…. I doubt they’ll let Anderson walk
Warning: this is going to be a VERY lengthy comment solely on my scouting report on Kyle Anderson, and my love for Kyle Anderson..lol!!
Kyle Anderson gets a ton of love for his defense, and rightfully so, but in turn, people tend to naturally assume he is a very good one on one, perimeter defender. Well, simply put, that is just not the case, he isn’t quick enough to guard alot of smaller guards out there. However, both Pop and Anderson know this, so they avoid putting Anderson in those type of one on one, mismatches..
Now, with that being said, Anderson is an extremely solid TEAM defender, pick n’ roll defender, and he is an excellent help defender!!
Again, Anderson is pretty much one of the slower players in the league, 6’9″ or shorter, so he HAS to do all the little things to make up for his lack of athleticism, AND HE DOES!! Anderson is great at providing backside help, he’s excellent at funneling his opponent into traffic, and overall, he is just very fundamentally sound defensively. He just forces his opponents into low-percentage shots, and he is very savvy at keeping his opponents off their favorite spots. Now, occasionally, Anderson can get the best of a quicker guard on the perimeter, but that’s because of his footwork, knowing his opponents tendencies, and just his overall, brilliant basketball IQ..
So yeah, you won’t find a better team defender, and in today’s positionless NBA, with screens, swaps, pick n’ rolls, etc. Anderson is a guy you really want on your team!!
Offensively, Anderson is just as methodical, alost surgeon-esque dissecting oposing team’so defensibe sets and gameplans. He almost always makes the correct play, he is an excellent passer for a guy his size, and he’s slowly but surely improved his range and his overall shot. Because he operates with such a high basketball IQ, coaches can find comfort in running their offense through Anderson, so he can definitely play and excel at that point-forward position.
Barring any unforseen, significant, or chronic injury/injuries, Anderson should age very gracefully, and there will not be much of a drop-off the longer he plays. Currently, his jumping ability may allow him to get some easier dunks, blocks, and rebounds, but, for the most part, he’s relying on his film study, his opponents patterns, his own footwork, his timing, his court awareness, blocking out, and his fundamentals as a whole to continue on being successful in each of those aforementioned categories. He’s just a player that doesn’t rely on athleticism, his speed, nor his vertical to be successful, which is amazing in itself in today’s NBA.
If you cannot already tell by now, I love me some Kyle Anderson, and part of that is because Anderson is a relatively new-school big, with an old school game and mentality. In an era where players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster, and players are more athletic and versatile as ever, here we have Kyle Anderson showing everyone that with film study, hard work, and solid fundamentals, you can still succeed and be an effective NBA player, even without being 7 feet tall, having immense strength, nor having otherworldly athleticism…
I am not the only one that loves Anderson though, he is beloved by his teammates and his coaches as well. He is a coaches dream player, and having him on the court is like having an extension of your coach. Anderson just makes everyone around him better, and he’s just an extremely unselfish player. Players love to play with Anderson, because his biggest concern is putting everyone in the best position to succeed. He doesn’t care about his PPG, he’d much rather rack-up assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, a positive plus/minus, and at the end of the day, for Anderson, it is all meaningless without a W. In a new world, filled with analytics, Anderson has mentioned his ONLY personal stats he concerns himself with is his turnovers, true +/-, and his team’s win-loss record.
I mean, what more could you want in a player than what Kyle Anderson brings to a team!?! Not a whole lot, that’s for sure..The Spurs are clearly becoming a team that needs to rebuild and re-tool, and losing out on Kyle Anderson would be a GIGANTIC LOSS for their rebuild. Whether it is a young, rebuilding team, or a contending team readying themselves for a lengthy playoff run, Anderson fits perfectly on both teams..scratch that..Anderson fits perfectly on ANY team!!
Well you did warn us!
I saw nothing to disagree with, everyone here appreciates his game it appears. Spurs should match.
Don’t know guys, yes he is a good defender, but unless is a starter, or a candidate to win the 6th man of the year, paying 10MM+ for a sub, seems a lot to me in these days, he is good but it seems an overpay for San Antonio, not so much for Memphis if they use him as a starter in the place of Tyreke.
cesc, there are plenty of subs that get $10M+, Lou Will, Tyreke Evans just to name a couple. The key isn’t whether they start on the bench (look at Manu), it’s how many minutes you play and what kind of impact do you make when you’re out there.
It’s really hard to see what the Spurs’ plan is. They have Gasol, Aldridge and then a combination of underwhelming young players and a few decent but unspectacular role players. It’s going to be a tough year for them…
I can only think that a Leonard deal is in the works to bring them a wing, a big and picks… Murray, x, x, Bertans, Alridge? Mills, Murray, x, Bertans, Aldridge?
Agreed. I think they’ll have a better sense of their team after a Leonard move. I can see RoCo and Saric, for example, slotting in nicely at the 3&4 next to Murray, Green, and LMA