Kyle Anderson

Anderson surprised many last season, ending as the 75th-ranked player despite going undrafted in most standard formats. After a slow start to the campaign, he stepped into a larger role following a significant calf injury to Karl-Anthony Towns. With Towns sidelined for the majority of the season, it was Anderson who slid into the starting lineup. He finished with averages of 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in 28.6 minutes per game. The blocks marked a career-high, as did the assists, concluding with a top-80 finish for just the third time in his career. While he was one of the success stories to come out of last season, his path to minutes remains murky. With Towns now fully healthy, and the Timberwolves looking for redemption, Anderson's playing time could be scaled back, much like it was to begin 2022-23. In the season prior, he ended as the 177th-ranked player in 21.5 minutes per game, playing for the Grizzlies. He is someone to consider in the final rounds of competitive drafts, but he would likely need another injury to provide him with the opportunity to put up consistent 12-team value.

Anderson will be on a new team, the Timberwolves, this season after spending the past four with the Grizzlies. His workload fluctuated heavily throughout his time in Memphis, but this past year, he averaged 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 combined steals-plus-blocks in 21.5 minutes. Aptly nicknamed "Slo Mo", the UCLA product is a pacing, methodical, ground-bound forward, but he has a high basketball IQ and passes well. Despite a weak three-point shot (33.8 percent across the past three seasons on 2.2 attempts), Anderson's managed to thrive in floater range. An extremely-high 36 percent of his shots came from 4-14 feet, and he converted at a solid 43 percent last year. Sound defense also keeps Anderson relevant in fantasy. He averages 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per 36 minutes for his career. All things considered, he ranked 182nd in per-game fantasy production last season, though he ranked 78th in 27.3 minutes during 2020-21, and he ranked 90th in 26.7 minutes in 2017-18, so he holds standard-league upside when presented with sixth-man minutes. He appears positioned to handle that sort of role in Minnesota but will compete for minutes at forward, primarily with Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince. Anderson is also capable of playing shooting guard or small-ball center in certain lineup combinations, so he figures to possess a high minutes floor. He's risky given the unclear workload, but the potential for a top-100 season is there, and he should be a staple in deep league drafts.

The seven-year veteran disappointed fantasy managers in 2019-20 but bounced back with a much-better 2020-21 campaign, in which he averaged career highs in points (12.4 PPG), assists (3.6 APG) and three-pointers (1.4 3PM) per game. As usual, Anderson posted a strong field goal percentage (46.8% FG) while tacking on 5.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 27.3 minutes. Anderson's workload jumped by nearly eight minutes per game relative to 2019-20, and he made a concerted effort to expand his range, taking 261 three-pointers -- 176 more than his previous career-high total. With Dillon Brooks taking a major leap and rookie Desmond Bane emerging as a key contributor last season, it's possible Anderson could take a minor step back in 2021-22. Even so, the UCLA product can be penciled in as one of the Grizzlies' starting forwards, so he projects as a steady, mid-to-late-round option in standard leagues.

Anderson saw a reduced role for the Grizzlies in 2019-20, seeing 10 fewer minutes per game than the previous season. That resulted in him dropping over 100 spots in fantasy on a per-game basis in eight-category leagues, with the forward ranking 229th. In his 19.9 minutes per contest, he averaged 5.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. In 2020-21, playing time won't be any easier to come by. The 27-year-old Anderson will be competing with younger players at his position for playing time on the rebuilding Grizzlies. He'll have to fight off the likes of Justise Winslow, Josh Jackson and Grayson Allen on the wing, while Jaren Jackson and Brandon Clarke are taking up power forward minutes. As a result, expecting a repeat season from Anderson seems fair, and he can be avoided in all but deep fantasy leagues.

During the summer of 2018, the Grizzlies liked Anderson enough to sign him to a four-year, $37 million contract that the Spurs were not willing to match. He showed the ability to contribute in multiple areas during the 2017-18 season, averaging 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals across just 27 minutes per game. There was the potential for him to have an expanded role with the Grizzlies, but injuries limited him to just 43 games. When he was on the floor, he showed similar promise by averaging 8.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals over 30 minutes. He shot 54.3 percent from the field, but his free-throw shooting cratered at 57.8 percent. Considering he has shot 70.6 percent from the charity stripe for his career, he will likely improve in that category moving forward. However, the Grizzlies have made several offseason moves that put his role in doubt. Andre Iguodala might not start the season on the roster, but the Grizzlies also added Jae Crowder and Josh Jackson to potentially take away some of his minutes. Since he doesn't really excel in any one particular category, expect Anderson to once again have limited upside.

The Grizzlies thought highly enough of Anderson’s talents to tender him a four-year, $37 million offer sheet that the Spurs somewhat surprisingly chose not to match. The 24-year-old swingman continued to fill out the stat sheet last season, his fourth in San Antonio. Anderson totaled career highs across the board – 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals on a career-best 52.7 percent shooting – averaging 26.7 minutes while Kawhi Leonard missed all but nine games with his quadriceps issues. A jack-of-all-trades with an above-average defensive skill set, Anderson seemingly fits right into Memphis’ slow-paced, half-court philosophy, one that somewhat resembles that of the Spurs team he leaves behind when running on all cylinders. Despite the presumed starting job, Anderson could ultimately see only a slight bump in playing time over last season, considering the likes of second-year man Dillon Brooks and veterans Chandler Parsons and Omri Casspi are also available to help man the three.

Anderson's third year with the Spurs didn't come with much improvement statistically. In fact, he saw his minutes per game drop from 16.0 to 14.2, while adding averages of 3.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists across 72 games. His 37.5 percent clip from the three-point line was a new career high, but the fact that his playing time dropped is still the main concern for his value. The good news for Anderson is the Spurs were unable to sign Jonathon Simmons to a contract extension, which should open up some extra minutes in the regular rotation. It wouldn't be surprising if Anderson was able to boost his numbers across the board in what should be the final year of his rookie deal, but it still likely won't be enough to keep him relevant in the majority of Fantasy leagues.

With his height (6-8) and ability to handle the ball like a point guard, Anderson projects as a versatile piece on a Spurs team that values perimeter and post mismatches. During his rookie season in 2014-15, he averaged 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.2 blocks, and 0.5 steals in 11 minutes per contest through 33 games. While the Spurs are one of the deepest teams in the league right now, and earning significant playing time would be no easy task, Anderson has shown a lot of promise. In D-League last season, he averaged 20.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 39 minutes per contest through 31 games. Anderson built on that showing by earning NBA Summer League MVP honors in Las Vegas this offseason. No matter his accolades thus far, it seems unlikely that Anderson will supplant players like Patty Mills and Manu Ginobili for a primary backup role this season. However, with coach Gregg Popovich's strategy of resting his veteran players and keeping the starting five's minutes totals low, it is possible that Anderson could see increased minutes this season.

Kyle Anderson was the Spurs' first selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, at 30th overall. He played two seasons at UCLA, averaging 14.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 0.8 three-pointers in 33 minutes per game through 36 games in his sophomore season. Anderson shot 48 percent from the field on 10.5 attempts per game and 74 percent from the line on 5.2 attempts. He brings a unique skill set to the NBA after playing point guard in college at 6-foot-9. Anderson projects to play as a forward in the NBA, in more of a distributor, point-forward sort of role. At the Las Vegas Summer League, he averaged 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 0.7 three-pointers in 24 minutes per game through six games. He shot 41 percent from the field on 7.0 attempts per game and 77 percent from the line on 2.2 attempts per game. The major negative scouts saw in Anderson in the pre-draft process was his lack of athleticism, but landing in San Antonio is a great fit, given their ball-movement offense. This season, Anderson will be buried on the depth chart behind Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green and won't be a consistent fantasy factor, but he has tantalizing skills for dynasty leagues.