Murphy: Justin Anderson is the key to the Sixers' deal
Forget the first-round draft pick the Sixers will reportedly receive from the Mavericks in exchange for Nerlens Noel. The success of the deal will very likely hinge on the development of 23-year-old shooting guard Justin Anderson, who has spent his first couple of seasons near the back of the Mavericks rotation.
In October,
an NBA scout gave a glowing review of Anderson to Sports Illustrated, opining that he considered the second-year guard to be “almost as good a player as Harrison Barnes,” the former Golden State Warrior whom the Mavericks had signed to a big free-agent contract over the offseason.
“Justin Anderson is gonna be good. I wonder how long of a leash [coach Rick] Carlisle will have with him. Rick prefers to play two guards, two smaller guards who are good pick-and-roll players, and that's not Justin. … I actually think Justin Anderson is almost as good a player as Harrison Barnes. Maybe not quite as good as a scorer, but rebounding, shot-blocking, he'll be a decent shooter this year. He'll be a solid piece of their rotation.”
Anderson, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2015 draft out of Virginia, had had a limited role in the Mavs’ rotation this season, averaging 13.9 minutes per game after averaging 11.8 as a rookie. He shot 26.5 percent from three-point range as a rookie, and entered Thursday shooting 30.3 percent this season (37 for 122).
In December,
ESPN ran a story on Anderson’s regression. Some observations from staff writer Tim McMahon:
“Anderson’s ceiling is to be a bouncier version of [Jae] Crowder, who has emerged as an excellent glue guy with the Boston Celtics. Like Crowder, the 6-foot-6, 228-pound Anderson is a powerfully built wing with the physical tools to be a ferocious defender.
“He’s very limited as an offensive player -- his strength is his finishing ability, never mind his blooper miss late in Saturday’s loss -- and he often looks tentative and lost on that end of the floor.”