MEMPHIS – The gratitude is clear.
Kyle Anderson has nothing but appreciation for the opportunity he was given the
past four years with the San Antonio Spurs. There remains admiration for future
Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich and the lessons Anderson learned while with
one of the most successful organizations in all of sports.
Still, something about his departure from San Antonio in July doesn’t quite sit
right with Anderson, who was quickly informed the Spurs would bypass the option
to match the four-year, $37.2 million contract the Grizzlies offered to him as a
restricted free agent.
But forgive Anderson if he no longer wants to focus on the past. He dealt with
those questions earlier in the week at media day. Now, the 6-9 versatile
playmaker only wants to hone in on the opportunity in the present and
foreseeable future with the Grizzlies.
“It’s just two different organizations (and) that was my time in the past, but
I’m here now,” Anderson said after his first training camp practice with the
Grizzlies. “There are going to be similarities and there are going to be
differences, but I can’t get into them right now.”
What Anderson can get into in relative short order is a transformative role with
his new team, a squad that is relying on his length, versatility, intelligence
and winning pedigree to provide a jolt at small forward. For the second time in
three years, Memphis prioritized spending to land an outside free agent at that
position, with oft-injured Chandler Parsons arriving in 2016 on a four-year, $94
million max deal.
$131 million
That’s the combined total of the four-year contracts the Grizzlies doled out
within the past three years to Chandler Parsons and Kyle Anderson with hopes of
solidifying the small forward position.
The Grizzlies maintain hope that Parsons can be a productive reserve after
reporting to camp buoyed by a recent restoration procedure on his knees in
Germany. But the team fully expects Anderson to be an immediate impact player as
an essential bridge between promising rookie lottery pick Jaren Jackson Jr. and
veteran catalysts Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
Had Parsons panned out the past two seasons instead of being limited to only 70
games because of knee issues, the Grizzlies likely wouldn’t have had a need for
Anderson this summer. But with both now in tow at a total of $32.7 million in
2018-19 salary cap space, the best-case scenario is that they collectively
solidify a forward spot that’s essentially been in flux for the Grizzlies since
Rudy Gay was traded in 2013.
While Parsons, 29, is trying to prove he can regain some of what he once had
from his breakout years in Houston and Dallas, Anderson is ready to show he can
take the next step coming off a career season in San Antonio. Regardless, the
message from Grizzlies’ coach J.B. Bickerstaff is basically the same to both.
“Just play ball,” Bickerstaff said of what he’s told Anderson and Parsons
entering camp. “Everything is going to work itself out for what’s best for the
team. Both of them have a high skillset, both can be versatile in the way they
play. And, they can play together. So it’s not one of those things where it
feels like it’s, ‘him against me.’ There are minutes there for everybody, so
compete, go after it and push one another. But at the end of the day, it’s going
to come down to what’s best for the team and fit.”
Parsons simply wants to fit in again.
Midway through his deal in Memphis, Parsons is no longer burdened by
expectations to live up to one of the team’s three max contracts. It’s basically
a forgone conclusion that the production won’t match the value at this point.
But if Parsons can remain healthy and available for around 60 games, there’s
confidence he can add some needed intangibles to the rotation.
Parsons shot a career-high 42.1-percent on threes last season but played only 36
games and averaged a career-low 19.2 minutes. His best stretch came in the first
two months, when Parsons scored double figures in 11 of his first 20 games,
including 24 points in 19 minutes during an Oct. 28 win over Houston. At that
time, Parsons was one of the driving forces behind a Grizzlies’ second unit that
was one of the league’s most productive benches before injuries derailed the
season.
Beyond Gasol and Conley being locks in the starting lineup, Bickerstaff has been
tight-lipped about his leanings at the three other starting spots, including
small forward. Parsons is likely to spend more time at power forward than small
forward, a shift that started last season as Bickerstaff used smaller lineups.
Bickerstaff has said he wants to rekindle the second-unit production the team
had early last season.
“We expect him to be on the floor,” Bickerstaff said of Parsons. “We expect him
to fight and earn his minutes, just like everybody else. He’s in a much better
place right now than he’s been the past two summers when we came back to
training camp. Obviously, we’re cautiously optimistic about it, but we’re
excited about where he is. Healthy, he adds a dynamic to this team that can help
us.”
Parsons was a bit more reserved in his comments at media day earlier this week
than he has been in the past. He’s first to admit that he’s said many of the
same optimistic things the past two seasons, only to get midway through the
season and battle injuries and soreness before being shut down.
“I’m not going into the season with that on my shoulders this year,” Parsons
said. “I’m not coming in having to talk to the training staff about how many
minutes I can go, or asking J.B. if I’ll be able to get back in, just dealing
with any of that. We’ve had no setbacks over the summer. Everything has been
about being ready and putting myself in position to finally get back to playing
the way I know I can play.”
Parsons also insists everything he came to Memphis to do can still be
accomplished.
“When I signed, I was coming for three reasons,” Parsons said. “I wanted to play
with Mike and Marc, I wanted to play for J.B., and I wanted to help this team
and this city win at a high level. All those things are still in place. So
that’s the reason why I feel there’s still a lot of opportunity in front of me
here.”
Likewise, a new opportunity awaits Anderson.
After the Spurs drafted him with the final pick of the first round in 2014,
Anderson spent three years in the development pipeline before his breakthrough
came last season. That’s when he stepped into a void at small forward amid Kawhi
Leonard’s prolonged injury absence to start 67 games. Anderson averaged career
highs at 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 52.7 percent
from the field.
He was effective as a point forward for the Spurs, essentially a middle man to
set up Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on the perimeter and LaMarcus Aldridge and
Pau Gasol either down low or for face-up looks. In Memphis, Anderson will
calibrate a pass-heavy, motion offense with Conley as the dynamic guard and
Gasol and Jackson as the versatile frontcourt options.
“He’s bright, so it’s pretty easy,” Bickerstaff said of Anderson. “He’s got a
great feel for the game. You don’t have to tell him much. Obviously, you’re
putting in different plays and he’ll have to learn those like anybody else. But
when you’re just playing basketball, there are not too many people in this
league who are better at just having a pure feel for the game than he does. He
knows where to be. He knows when to cut. He knows who to pass to. He knows how
to defend, who to defend, where to be defensively. You don’t have to over-coach
him. Just give him the freedom to do what he does.”
That freedom has also allowed Anderson to move forward with his career. The
challenge now is to balance the eagerness to push and pick up as many new
concepts as quickly as possible while also taking a cerebral approach and
allowing the transition to flow naturally without forcing anything.
“It’s important early in the season to build a foundation, to build a base,”
Anderson said of helping the Grizzlies regroup from a 22-60 season. “You don’t
just wake up in the playoffs, or just get rolling out of nowhere. It’s like
coach John Wooden said, ‘Play fast, but don’t hurry.’ You’re trying to play fast
and get your legs under you. But you can’t hurry; you still have to think your
way through things. I’m used to it.”
Anderson is also getting used to his new surroundings and expectations.
“I’m not in San Antonio no more,” he said to deflect another set of
Spurs-related questions on Tuesday. “My heart’s in Memphis, I’m in Memphis. I’m
just ready to go for a new team.”
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Player: Kyle Anderson
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