San Antonio Spurs: Kyle Anderson Will Produce In Year Two

Kyle Anderson was about as quality of a pick that you can get if you were the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2014 NBA Draft, he fell to last year’s champion with the 30th pick.

The craziest thing about Anderson as a prospect is that his abilities seem to fit perfectly with the San Antonio Spurs’ principles of versatility and high IQ basketball. The expectations weren’t high for Anderson to contribute right away, playing behind Kawhi Leonard, Marco Belinelli, and Boris Diaw.

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The 2015-16 season should be one where he should emerge as a key piece to the Spurs’ future foundation.

As we all witnessed in this year’s NBA Finals, the game continues to change in favor of big men with the skills of a guard. LeBron James and Draymond Green both had their share of stat-sheet stuffing, putting their fingerprints all over the games. In terms of a point-forward to run through offense through, the Spurs will look to lean on Anderson to play that part in a similar fashion.

Anderson isn’t exactly an interior-oriented guy, but standing at 6’8″ makes him look the part. He combines his size with comfortable ball-handling skills and passing.

San Antonio had him play with their D-League affiliate (Austin Toros), where he put his tools on full display. Anderson averaged 20.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. Of course, the level of competition there isn’t equivalent to that of the NBA, but those are good signs.

In my belief, you should design your team to counter the best in the NBA, which would be the Golden State Warriors. If you’re going to keep up with their depth, defense, shooting and versatility, you better establish your own. What Anderson can do is allow the Spurs to play just as “small” as the Warriors and match up comfortably against them. He would also provide another playmaker outside of Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard.

It’s a lot to think that Anderson would be the centerpiece of the offense in just his second season, but the Spurs are a franchise that has proven to bring players along the right way. As mentioned, see Leonard’s emergence as an offensive focal point in short time. Anderson and Leonard aren’t comparable at all, but the same environment could breed the same production.

Even if Anderson isn’t ready next season, he’s only 21 years old. That’s an extremely young prospect to look forward to developing. Gregg Popovich is going to have a great time thinking of a variety of sets involving Leonard and Anderson. There’s also the possibility of Anderson’s defensive ability improving in the Spurs’ scheme. Can you imagine Kawhi Leonard’s enormous hands and wingspan combined with that of Anderson’s? It’s an absolutely scary thought for the opposition.

All in all, the Spurs are looking to bounce back from this year’s first round loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Anderson must come into the year with vast improvements and confidence that he can be a big part of the team’s success. The league could be in trouble if Anderson brings his A-game, along with the possibility of signing free agent LaMarcus Aldridge. All they have to do at this point is bring back their “Big Three,” and the Spurs could be on the River Walk next June. Bring it Kyle! Keep me a believer!

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