Dallas Mavericks: Justin Anderson Is A Valuable Rookie To Have

The Dallas Mavericks have not had great success with recent rookies, but Justin Anderson is looking to change that.

The Dallas Mavericks have not been patient with their draft picks in the past few seasons. Whether it was due to being released or a move to a different team via trade, Mavs rookies in the last 3-4 years have not had long tenures with the team and that’s a cause for some concern.

In 2012, the Mavs drafted four players, thanks to a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They ended up selecting Jared Cunningham, Bernard James, Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom.

Cunningham only played in eight games with the Mavs and was traded in a draft night deal a year later. James was a lone exception for the Mavs as he played in Dallas for three seasons, but he was buried on the bench for much of his time there and never really made that much of an impact. Johnson-Odom was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Crowder is one player that the Mavs will admit they made a mistake with. While in the midst of his third season with the Mavs, he was traded to the Celtics as a part of the Rajon Rondo deal. Crowder had showed signs of progression and he had a really nice set of defensive skills, but the Mavs were more interested in the bigger prize that was gone after half of a season. Since then, Crowder has gone on to break out in Boston, averaging 14.1 points per game.

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In 2013, the Mavs drafted Shane Larkin and Ricky Ledo. Ledo played in 16 games before being traded in 2015. Larkin played in 48 games for the Mavs in 2013-14 but was eventually sent to New York in the Tyson Chandler trade the summer after.

2014 saw the Mavs miss out on the draft as they had no draft picks. However, in 2015, things changed. The Mavs selected Justin Anderson with the 21st pick in the draft and his time in Dallas has been swirling with potential.

As a 6’6″ shooting guard from Virginia, Anderson played on one of the best teams in college basketball for his senior season. He had a very well-rounded game and played tough defense, which was something that the Mavs desperately needed.

Though he didn’t play much throughout the first few months of his NBA career, Anderson made the most of his playing time by showing effort on every play, even if it was in garbage time. Head coach Rick Carlisle has been quick to give him praise for some of his impressive plays.

"“He had some rebounds in traffic that I haven’t seen anybody make here in the last seven-plus years. I don’t know how you duplicate his enthusiasm. We knew he was a special kid when we drafted him.”"

Since Jan. 26 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Anderson has been getting some quality playing time, averaging 12.0 minutes per game. During that time period, he has shown that he has already improved since the beginning of the season with outings like 13 points and three rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs.

A few things that set Anderson apart from other rookies this season is his size. He is already a 6’6″ shooting guard, but he is lot stronger than the average NBA player and he uses his body to drive the lane and create space. He also uses his body on defense and is capable of really frustrating defenders with his wingspan.

The sky is the limit for Anderson, and while I am not suggesting he will ever be this good, I do believe he has the ability to act as a poor man’s Jimmy Butler. His style of play so far has imitated one of those versatile players that can do a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor. He is very receptive to any changes the team makes and is always looking to learn from the best.

In the past, it was easy to think of Mavs’ rookies being included in trades but this season feels different. Though the trade deadline is rapidly approaching, Anderson seems like one player that is a solid fit on the team, even if he isn’t in the regular rotation.

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The Mavs have incentive to keep Anderson around because of how uncertain their future is. In the past few seasons, they still had hopes that they could become a contender, and that is the reason why they were so willing to trade young pieces. They were in “win-now” mode and at that time, veterans were more important.

Now, as Nowitzki could only have one more full season left in his career, it’s a fact that they will still be competitive but they won’t be able to get on the level of top contenders within the next year. Having Anderson on the team provides them with a young piece to pair with Chandler Parsons, Wesley Matthews, Dwight Powell and any other players that they may draft or pick up in free agency. The time has finally come for them to be conservative and keep their promising rookies around.

Past rookies almost seemed like pieces that could be replaced, but Anderson seems very important to the next era of Mavs basketball.

Next: For The Mavs, Offense Is A Need At The Trade Deadline

Though it remains to be seen if Justin Anderson will remain with the Mavs for more than a couple of seasons, it’s obvious that the team has confidence in him. It’s just a matter of continuing to grow so that he can stick around for a very different Mavs’ future.