Kyle Anderson

[EvanZ]

that's not much of a question. using smart as an example proves what, that anderson's not AS bad?
smart's not a spot up shooter either.

And yet he's projected as a top 5-8 pick.

It's kind of a silly criticism. There are few, if any, shooters who are better off the dribble than on catch and shoot. So if Anderson can pull up off the dribble and make shots, I'm not really too concerned about him spotting up in the corner in the NBA, regardless of how many of those he took in college.

[ManualRam]

that's not much of a question. using smart as an example proves what, that anderson's not AS bad?
smart's not a spot up shooter either.

And yet he's projected as a top 5-8 pick.

It's kind of a silly criticism. There are few, if any, shooters who are better off the dribble than on catch and shoot. So if Anderson can pull up off the dribble and make shots, I'm not really too concerned about him spotting up in the corner in the NBA, regardless of how many of those he took in college.

do you think KA's good enough to even come close to playing the same role for an nba team that he played in college, IOW being extremely ball-dominant and running the offense? if you do, then i'll just flat out disagree.
i explain in my post here:
viewtopic.php?p=40022123#p40022123
if he doesn't have that role, then he has to get better at working off the ball, including being an effective spot up shooter.

it's the same story as another prospect like evan turner. evan was very good on the ball in college, with his off-the-ball play being a huge question mark. he was actually a pretty decent shooter on low volume in catch and shoot situations in college as well (taking 1.7 to KA's 1.1 catch and shoot jumpers a game). fast forward to the nba and he's not good enough to play on the ball on a decent team and he sucks working without it, including catch and shoot jumpers. KA needs to improve his off-the-ball game to avoid that pitfall. he's gonna have to learn to be another cog in the wheel as opposed to being THE guy who controls the action.

[mattg]

that's not much of a question. using smart as an example proves what, that anderson's not AS bad?
smart's not a spot up shooter either.

And yet he's projected as a top 5-8 pick.

It's kind of a silly criticism. There are few, if any, shooters who are better off the dribble than on catch and shoot. So if Anderson can pull up off the dribble and make shots, I'm not really too concerned about him spotting up in the corner in the NBA, regardless of how many of those he took in college.

do you think KA's good enough to even come close to playing the same role for an nba team that he played in college, IOW being extremely ball-dominant and running the offense? if you do, then i'll just flat out disagree.
i explain in my post here:
viewtopic.php?p=40022123#p40022123
if he doesn't have that role, then he has to get better at working off the ball, including being an effective spot up shooter.

it's the same story as another prospect like evan turner. evan was very good on the ball in college, with his off-the-ball play being a huge question mark. he was actually a pretty decent shooter on low volume in catch and shoot situations in college as well (taking 1.7 to KA's 1.1 catch and shoot jumpers a game). fast forward to the nba and he's not good enough to play on the ball on a decent team and he sucks working without it, including catch and shoot jumpers. KA needs to improve his off-the-ball game to avoid that pitfall. he's gonna have to learn to be another cog in the wheel as opposed to being THE guy who controls the action.

This basically succinctly sums up where I'm at with Anderson.

[miltk]

so then the team that drafts him should be willing(or maybe be smart enough) to find a role for him rather than expect a certain role from him.

[EvanZ]

do you think KA's good enough to even come close to playing the same role for an nba team that he played in college, IOW being extremely ball-dominant and running the offense? if you do, then i'll just flat out disagree.

He doesn't need to do exactly the same things he did in college to be successful in the NBA. That seems to be a strawman you're working on keeping alive.

[ManualRam]

do you think KA's good enough to even come close to playing the same role for an nba team that he played in college, IOW being extremely ball-dominant and running the offense? if you do, then i'll just flat out disagree.

He doesn't need to do exactly the same things he did in college to be successful in the NBA. That seems to be a strawman you're working on keeping alive.

do you think he'll need to adjust his game? if so, in what way?

[bwgood77]

Anderson will be a good NBA player. The guy can do everything. Rebound and pass at high levels, and shot 48% from 3. Will he completely run a team as the point? No, he will be more like Diaw. He will know when to make an extra pass, can spread the floor, can rebound, and can defend better than people give him credit for. He did a great job defending Aaron Gordon, one of the most athletic guys in the draft.

[EvanZ]

do you think KA's good enough to even come close to playing the same role for an nba team that he played in college, IOW being extremely ball-dominant and running the offense? if you do, then i'll just flat out disagree.

He doesn't need to do exactly the same things he did in college to be successful in the NBA. That seems to be a strawman you're working on keeping alive.

do you think he'll need to adjust his game? if so, in what way?

Depends on the role he's given. I think he's good enough and smart enough to fit in pretty much any role he's given.

Some guys just know how to play basketball. I don't bet against those guys (anymore).

Actually, my only real concern about Anderson is how tough is he going to be on the defensive end against other 4's and on the offensive end setting screens. Those are the only two things that I think are real unknowns.

[ManualRam]

He doesn't need to do exactly the same things he did in college to be successful in the NBA. That seems to be a strawman you're working on keeping alive.

do you think he'll need to adjust his game? if so, in what way?

Depends on the role he's given. I think he's good enough and smart enough to fit in pretty much any role he's given.

Some guys just know how to play basketball. I don't bet against those guys (anymore).

Actually, my only real concern about Anderson is how tough is he going to be on the defensive end against other 4's and on the offensive end setting screens. Those are the only two things that I think are real unknowns.

even smart players can have trouble adjusting to different roles. kyle has played on the ball his entire life. he grew up as a PG, experienced a major growth spurt but still remained on the ball. the only time we've seen him not on the ball full time was his freshman yr and he didn't do so well. after that yr he was being labeled as a 2nd round prospect at best. if diaw is the model, which i think it should be, kyle's gonna have to make some strides in his off the ball game to replicate that.

[Charsace]

KA looks like a glue guy, not a star. He could be the offensive equivalent of Battier if he proves to be a dependable shooter off the catch.

[Nazrmohamed]

He reminds me a lot of Lamar Odom in that he can effect so many areas of the game but doesn't seem elite in any one area. Should make for a future great third option on a finals team so long as the first option is extremely aggressive ......meh, I'm just regurgitating what the Lakers did with Odom. I have no idea but that's probably the best nba comparison.

[mattg]

Anderson will be a good NBA player. The guy can do everything. Rebound and pass at high levels, and shot 48% from 3. Will he completely run a team as the point? No, he will be more like Diaw. He will know when to make an extra pass, can spread the floor, can rebound, and can defend better than people give him credit for. He did a great job defending Aaron Gordon, one of the most athletic guys in the draft.

I agree that he should be like diaw, and has all the skills to do so, however too many people are glossing over Anderson's mentality right now. Manram has touched on it a number of times as well. All the good things diaw does in terms of passing/playmaking, posting, and scoring he does off the ball playing off of others. Basically in the polar opposition of how Kyle Anderson achieves everything he does on the court. So at this point I'm curious to see how Anderson adapts. Hes not going to be running he point in the nba and will have to learn how to get involved off the ball because right now, he doesn't do anything well offensively when he isn't getting touches as a primary ball handler. He doesn't use his presence to open up the floor for his teammates which is mildly concerning for a player labeled as high IQ. He doesn't cut hard, move to spots to catch and shoot, or use/set screens at all. He actually doesn't do much besides stand around without the ball. He obviously has the potential to be diaw like, but I think it's ambitious to blindly assume he'll get there when he doesn't show any of that right now aside from raw skills.

I don't like the odom comparison because odom was so damn talented and had far superior physical tools. Lamar could take one dribble left and be at the rim because of his first step, Kyle will never have that ability.

[Zombiesonics]

Kyle Anderson will be a better basketball player than Lavine for the rest of eternity. One looks like jared cunningham, the other is garnering comps to odom/diaw. Absolute steal in the late first, can you imagine if he gets on a contender? I think the bulls would be an interesting fit, though i'm not sure hes a target. He needs a coach that can ACTUALIZE his talents on the floor despite his poor run+jump ability. Anderson has all the tools to be impact, he is freaking huge and his numbers were insane in a top conference. He could literally post up 99% of second unit 2guards, just creating offense from there.

[Kurosawa0]

Its actually probably better for Kyle Anderson if he falls. Seems like the kind of guy that needs to go to a good culture. He could be interesting in Chicago.

[miltk]

right now, it looks pretty good that kyle goes 14>19. he's going for his second workout at atl. i wish he would drop to a contender because that's really where he'd do best.

ya know, all this talk about where he'd fit, how he'd fit, will he change etc etc,,,has followed him his whole life. i mean, that is the "intrigue" that has followed him. where will he play at the next level. what he is is a winner, a player, a facilitator. as a draft pick, i don't see anyone around his slot(15-24) that's more compelling than him. he's just better than those picks.

there is no rationale here. scouts are willing to take a chance on an athlete who has shown NOTHING rather than take kyle who has shown EVERYTHING.....just wondering, when people ponder whether kyle will make it, do they mean will kyle produce numbers or help a team win, because that is kyle's immeasurable.

[Orlwillbeback]

so we are banking anderson on becoming the next boris diaw now? how common are players like diaw in the nba?

[EvanZ]

so we are banking anderson on becoming the next boris diaw now? how common are players like diaw in the nba?

About as common as players like Anderson?

[Joshumitsu]

He'd be great in the Blazers motion offense. Would add depth and facilitate the ball well. Can hit those wide open 3's well too (considering Mathews, Batum, Lillard, etc will open up space)

[miltk]

so we are banking anderson on becoming the next boris diaw now? how common are players like diaw in the nba?

how rare is it to be thought of the way embiid is being thought of. are we banking on randle, parker, gordon, wiggins to be the next whoever they....potential is a load of cr@p. i think kyle is a better shoe-in than gordon. i don't even know what exum is, and i don't think anybody in america does either. imo with kyle, i KNOW what he has,,,,he just has to find the fit. with wiggins, exum, lavine, and embiid, i don't KNOW what they have because they're all being drafted on potential. first wiggins is the next lebron, then he's another barnes, then last i read he's going to be a damned great lock down defender, and now people think he has no will power - so what is he?

[mattg]

so we are banking anderson on becoming the next boris diaw now? how common are players like diaw in the nba?

About as common as players like Anderson?

Well the entire premise of the conversation is that Anderson will have to significantly change his game to do the things diaw does now. He's undoubtedly got the raw skills to do so, but it's all about the mentality and willingness to adapt, something he's struggled with so far.