Welcome home Ryan Anderson - maybe, likely?

[KingsFanGER]

Anderson isn't athletic, he isn't a great defender and we pretty much all agree, that our troubles start at the defensive end.
I have a hard time understanding, why Anderson is painted as a possible solution for this roster.
I hope Vlade has learned his lesson and goes after fast athletic guys in FA, that are willing defenders and work hard.
Want a stretch 4 to provide more space for Cousins at times? Go after guys like Arthur or Lauvergne. They are cheaper than Ryno and we would still be able to improve our roster on the defensive end.
We got to b figure out ways to handle the Warriors, Blazers and all those small, quick teams on defense first, before we think about adding another offensive weapon.

 

[biltalent]

Yeah but we are talking about now he's not a SF in anyway. If Ryan wants to come here on a reasonable deal i'm all for it but a near max deal for a guy who's shooting % have been crap the last two years with questiobale defense not to mention plenty of injuries no thanks.

Did he play SF? The only SF's I remember playing with Dwight in Orlando were Grant Hill/Hedo/Rashad Lewis(played mainly PF as well)/Vince Carter/Mickel Piterus/Matt Barnes I always thought he played as a stretch 4.

interesting question: What is a reasonable deal for Anderson? With the new cap I can see them giving him a 3 year 45 mil deal, so 15 mil per year. This would equal to about 11 mil under the current cap. But if it is more, ouch.

 

[funkykingston]

Anderson isn't athletic, he isn't a great defender and we pretty much all agree, that our troubles start at the defensive end.
I have a hard time understanding, why Anderson is painted as a possible solution for this roster.
I hope Vlade has learned his lesson and goes after fast athletic guys in FA, that are willing defenders and work hard.
Want a stretch 4 to provide more space for Cousins at times? Go after guys like Arthur or Lauvergne. They are cheaper than Ryno and we would still be able to improve our roster on the defensive end.
We got to b figure out ways to handle the Warriors, Blazers and all those small, quick teams on defense first, before we think about adding another offensive weapon.

Here is the starting lineup of Stan Van Gundy's 2009 Magic team that won 59 games and went to the finals:

Dwight Howard
Rashard Lewis
Hedo Turkoglu
Courtney Lee
Jameer Nelson

Dwight in the middle, surrounded by shooters. That's really it.

I think the roster as is can be much better defensively with a better defensive coach/scheme. But there's no way to "handle" the Warriors on defense. SA has a decent gameplan against Curry (a team which really doesn't have any standout individual defenders - Timmy is still pretty good but not what he once was - but plays very smart and disciplined team defense) but that team just has too many weapons to think that they can be stopped on the defensive end.

So what's the counter to that? You take the Kings' greatest strength in Cousins and force teams to either play him one on one or get punished by guys who can knock down open threes.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Here is the starting lineup of Stan Van Gundy's 2009 Magic team that won 59 games and went to the finals:

Dwight Howard
Rashard Lewis
Hedo Turkoglu
Courtney Lee
Jameer Nelson

Dwight in the middle, surrounded by shooters. That's really it.

I think the roster as is can be much better defensively with a better defensive coach/scheme. But there's no way to "handle" the Warriors on defense. SA has a decent gameplan against Curry (a team which really doesn't have any standout individual defenders - Timmy is still pretty good but not what he once was - but plays very smart and disciplined team defense) but that team just has too many weapons to think that they can be stopped on the defensive end.

So what's the counter to that? You take the Kings' greatest strength in Cousins and force teams to either play him one on one or get punished by guys who can knock down open threes.

That's 2009 not 2016. And Dwight was a great rim protector, while Cousins is good but not on the same level as 2009 Howard (at least I would expect him not to be without looking at the stats).
And when you take a look at what Stan does for the Pistons it's Drummond in the middle for putbacks, lobs and easy hooks with a scoring, athletic, big guard in Jackson and a whole bunch of versatile wing defenders and athletic guys like KCP, Johnson, Harris and Morris. It's the 2009 Magic adjusted to the 2016 NBA, where almost every rotation player can switch on defense without giving up too much. You can switch Johnson on a PG/SG/SF or even a PF without getting punished too badly. Harris or Morris are more than capable to contain a guard in the pick&roll and can switch back and forth in guarding the opposing PF or SF. KCP and Jackson can both guard PG or SG.
The Kings? Switch DC or Rondo on a big SG and you are in trouble. Gay is not worth talking about. The only guy able to play defense against almost every position is Willie.
Why add Anderson to this mess, who only can guard PF's and is not the guy you want to step out to contain a guard in the pick&roll?

It's not all about the Warriors. It's about every team in the league, that plays with 4 quick and athletic guys.
And when you build a playoff contender, you better think about the strengths and weaknesses of the teams you will face in the playoffs first and figure out potential ways to hurt their playstyle. Just adding talent and trying to make it work on the fly might work, when you add Lebron, but not when you are just a regular NBA team.
It's delusional to think we can tinker this roster a little bit, add more offensive firepower to it and force teams to adjust to our playstyle just by signing a new coach.
Cousins drops 30+ pts and 15+ rebounds on a regular basis and teams still beat us all the time by playing their own style.

 

[KingMilz]

interesting question: What is a reasonable deal for Anderson? With the new cap I can see them giving him a 3 year 45 mil deal, so 15 mil per year. This would equal to about 11 mil under the current cap. But if it is more, ouch.

I actually have no idea what Anderson is worth cause I don't really rate him at all I thought we overpaid for Rondo this year and giving Anderson the equivalent (cap increase)next year on a longer deal would be more stupid. I think the Kings have to stop making short term moves with no upside in 1-3 years cause of Cousins who himself is completely unstable. I think people are also overlooking that Anderson has not been that healthy past couple years. If we sign both Rondo and Anderson than my god..................

The Kings need two way players with some above average athletic ability, I think the Kings in general lack badly in both these area's we have zero explosiveness in the wing spot (Rudy is athletic but he's a sluggish type athlete) the one good athlete we have in Ben has been a complete bust and is not really a two way player since he's not good on either end. We got to many specialists on this team who just are not versatile at all aside from Cousins/Collison and maybe WCS in a year or so.

 

[funkykingston]

That's 2009 not 2016. And Dwight was a great rim protector, while Cousins is good but not on the same level as 2009 Howard (at least I would expect him not to be without looking at the stats).
And when you take a look at what Stan does for the Pistons it's Drummond in the middle for putbacks, lobs and easy hooks with a scoring, athletic, big guard in Jackson and a whole bunch of versatile wing defenders and athletic guys like KCP, Johnson, Harris and Morris. It's the 2009 Magic adjusted to the 2016 NBA, where almost every rotation player can switch on defense without giving up too much. You can switch Johnson on a PG/SG/SF or even a PF without getting punished too badly. Harris or Morris are more than capable to contain a guard in the pick&roll and can switch back and forth in guarding the opposing PF or SF. KCP and Jackson can both guard PG or SG.
The Kings? Switch DC or Rondo on a big SG and you are in trouble. Gay is not worth talking about. The only guy able to play defense against almost every position is Willie.
Why add Anderson to this mess, who only can guard PF's and is not the guy you want to step out to contain a guard in the pick&roll?

It's not all about the Warriors. It's about every team in the league, that plays with 4 quick and athletic guys.
And when you build a playoff contender, you better think about the strengths and weaknesses of the teams you will face in the playoffs first and figure out potential ways to hurt their playstyle. Just adding talent and trying to make it work on the fly might work, when you add Lebron, but not when you are just a regular NBA team.
It's delusional to think we can tinker this roster a little bit, add more offensive firepower to it and force teams to adjust to our playstyle just by signing a new coach.
Cousins drops 30+ pts and 15+ rebounds on a regular basis and teams still beat us all the time by playing their own style.

Whether it's 2016, 2009 or 1984 (ala Dream's Rockets) surrounding a dominant offensive big with shooting works. For all the talk about how the league is completely different, analytics driven etc I still see dominant scorers (either wings like Harden or LeBron or a post big like Boogie) attacking the basket to either score or kick out to shooters. Just like the pick & roll it's a fundamental strategy that works by forcing a decision by the defense.

Speaking of the P&R why would you want to switch guys anyway? It's a lazy defensive approach that invites mismatches. You can jump it or blitz it or do what most teams do and use Thibs approach to push or ice or whatever each team calls that technique.

Every defense of the P&R gives up something but what that strategy gives up is the pop from the big (another value Anderson brings) rather than an easier basket inside.

If this team is committed to moving forward with Cousins the goal has to be maximizing his value. Obviously you want to be able to match up with other teams if you can but it's as or more important to force them to matchup with you.

This team is not close to being good. But I do think people discount the effect of good vs bad coaching. Which Spurs players other than Kawhi are versatile, athletic defenders? And yet as a team they are great degensively. That's scheme, buy-in and commitment from players and a dedication to playing the right way night after night.

 

[macadocious]

If we sign anderson we better have a really athletic long 3 as well.

 

[Telemachus]

If we sign anderson we better have a really athletic long 3 as well.

You just described Rudy Gay.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

That's 2009 not 2016.

I hate to break this to you, but the game wasn't completely revolutionized in 7 years. Despite what many like to think, it still isn't drastically different except for the dearth of skilled big men that's necessitated teams to play without one. If you are lucky enough to have a dominant big AND can surround him with the right complimentary talent, you will beat these perimeter oriented teams. It's simple math.

Most "good" shooting teams are below 40% from the arc. But even if they do manage to shoot 40%+ (Warriors), imagine Shaq or Duncan or Olajuwon or, now, Boogie and Karl Anthony-Towns being guarded 1-on-1 by an undersized player all game. They'd easily shoot 60%+ around the paint. That'd make things a wash. But it wouldn't take into account foul trouble the other team would be in defending a low post monster nor the higher probability for FT's. And I'd argue that many of those old dominant centers would shoot better than 60% if guarded by today's midgets.

That said, having the dominant big isn't enough to make these teams pay. They can double and overplay and employ all kinds of strategies to get the ball out of his hands --- unless you have the right mix of shooters and slashers to make them pay for doing that. If you have that right mix, they'll either have to go bigger to matchup or simply try to trade as many 3's as they can make against your much higher % of 2's.

I'll guarantee you that this current Warriors team would not have been able to beat the early 2000's Lakers or Kings or Spurs doing that. Those teams bigs would have destroyed them down low to the point that they would have had to play Andrew Bogut and likely another big, which means they don't shoot 42% from 3 every game thus their shooting advantage is mitigated.

The problem is there aren't enough skilled, dominant post players in the league right now. And the few there are haven't been surrounded by a the right cast of characters. If Minnesota can build around KAT and the Kings can do the same with DeMarcus, they'll be in a position to buck the current trend.

 

[KingsFanGER]

I hate to break this to you, but the game wasn't completely revolutionized in 7 years. Despite what many like to think, it still isn't drastically different except for the dearth of skilled big men that's necessitated teams to play without one. If you are lucky enough to have a dominant big AND can surround him with the right complimentary talent, you will beat these perimeter oriented teams. It's simple math.

Most "good" shooting teams are below 40% from the arc. But even if they do manage to shoot 40%+ (Warriors), imagine Shaq or Duncan or Olajuwon or, now, Boogie and Karl Anthony-Towns being guarded 1-on-1 by an undersized player all game. They'd easily shoot 60%+ around the paint. That'd make things a wash. But it wouldn't take into account foul trouble the other team would be in defending a low post monster nor the higher probability for FT's. And I'd argue that many of those old dominant centers would shoot better than 60% if guarded by today's midgets.

That said, having the dominant big isn't enough to make these teams pay. They can double and overplay and employ all kinds of strategies to get the ball out of his hands --- unless you have the right mix of shooters and slashers to make them pay for doing that. If you have that right mix, they'll either have to go bigger to matchup or simply try to trade as many 3's as they can make against your much higher % of 2's.

I'll guarantee you that this current Warriors team would not have been able to beat the early 2000's Lakers or Kings or Spurs doing that. Those teams bigs would have destroyed them down low to the point that they would have had to play Andrew Bogut and likely another big, which means they don't shoot 42% from 3 every game thus their shooting advantage is mitigated.

The problem is there aren't enough skilled, dominant post players in the league right now. And the few there are haven't been surrounded by a the right cast of characters. If Minnesota can build around KAT and the Kings can do the same with DeMarcus, they'll be in a position to buck the current trend.

I bet it doesn't suprise you that I disagree completely. Under the current ruleset and with the way the game is officiated now the current Warriors would beat the 2000's Lakers or Spurs. People just live in the past, because they assume the past with glory days of the NBA or something strange.
There are plenty of skilled big man in this league, that would have been dominant in the 90's. Problem is, they aren't dominant today. Yes Cousins, AD, Towns are great, but they don't win. And we can point at the supporting cast all day and ignore, that teams like the Blazers, Celtics or Hawks even exist.
Problem is that Cousins won't be guarded 1vs1 by an undersized player. He won't shoot 60%. He shoots under 50% during the regular season. One can expect, that this number would go down even more in a tight playoff series.
There is no team in this league, that is built around a dominant big man and only puts shooters around them to play inside out.
Why is that?
If it's only about shooting why not sign a bunch of guys like lets say Rasual Butler and let Boogie run the show.
You truly believe that would be enough to beat one of the best teams this league has ever seen?

 

[Henkel]

Whether it's 2016, 2009 or 1984 (ala Dream's Rockets) surrounding a dominant offensive big with shooting works. For all the talk about how the league is completely different, analytics driven etc I still see dominant scorers (either wings like Harden or LeBron or a post big like Boogie) attacking the basket to either score or kick out to shooters. Just like the pick & roll it's a fundamental strategy that works by forcing a decision by the defense.

Speaking of the P&R why would you want to switch guys anyway? It's a lazy defensive approach that invites mismatches. You can jump it or blitz it or do what most teams do and use Thibs approach to push or ice or whatever each team calls that technique.

Every defense of the P&R gives up something but what that strategy gives up is the pop from the big (another value Anderson brings) rather than an easier basket inside.

If this team is committed to moving forward with Cousins the goal has to be maximizing his value. Obviously you want to be able to match up with other teams if you can but it's as or more important to force them to matchup with you.

This team is not close to being good. But I do think people discount the effect of good vs bad coaching. Which Spurs players other than Kawhi are versatile, athletic defenders? And yet as a team they are great degensively. That's scheme, buy-in and commitment from players and a dedication to playing the right way night after night.

It's a copy cat league and teams like the Warriors and Celtics have built great defenses that like to switch the spread or high pick and roll. Wouldn't call it lazy, but you do need a certain type of personnel to run it effectively.

I'm not opposed to Ryan Anderson, but we have to get better defending the pick and role. That, along with transition defense, are the biggest weaknesses of this team and should be the priority of the offseason. If you can do both that's great, but if Anderson and Rondo are what you walk away with in free agency that's not going to make you a better defensive team. If we can add a couple of capable perimeter defenders and Ryan then it's worth considering.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Whether it's 2016, 2009 or 1984 (ala Dream's Rockets) surrounding a dominant offensive big with shooting works. For all the talk about how the league is completely different, analytics driven etc I still see dominant scorers (either wings like Harden or LeBron or a post big like Boogie) attacking the basket to either score or kick out to shooters. Just like the pick & roll it's a fundamental strategy that works by forcing a decision by the defense.

Speaking of the P&R why would you want to switch guys anyway? It's a lazy defensive approach that invites mismatches. You can jump it or blitz it or do what most teams do and use Thibs approach to push or ice or whatever each team calls that technique.

Every defense of the P&R gives up something but what that strategy gives up is the pop from the big (another value Anderson brings) rather than an easier basket inside.

If this team is committed to moving forward with Cousins the goal has to be maximizing his value. Obviously you want to be able to match up with other teams if you can but it's as or more important to force them to matchup with you.

This team is not close to being good. But I do think people discount the effect of good vs bad coaching. Which Spurs players other than Kawhi are versatile, athletic defenders? And yet as a team they are great degensively. That's scheme, buy-in and commitment from players and a dedication to playing the right way night after night.

No offense funky. I agree with you most of the time, but in this case I just can't understand, how you are able to convince yourself of the things you wrote.
Excuse me, but switching the pick&roll is not lazy. It's sometimes the only way to deny an open 3. The Spurs did it with great success in the last matchup vs the Warriors. LMA or Diaw guarding Curry wasn't an accident, it was the actual strategy to give Curry no opening to lauch his shots.
And we gave up the Pop out of the pick&roll all season long, like against the Hornets where Spencer friggin Hawes got 3 after 3 on us because of it.
You want to be able to adjust when guarding the pick&roll. You don't want to go into a game and say "Ok we give the Pop to the big" and than watch said big drain open 3 after open 3.
And we are the Kings - we suck!! Teams won't adjust to us, just because we have Ryno in our lineup. We barely can crack 30 wins and keep talking like we are the next big thing.
We aren't. We have 1 dominant offensive player and 1 good defender. That's it. I bet the Spurs and Warriors are scared.
And we already had the discussion about the defensive potential of the Spurs roster. I disagree with your assessment completely. You are undervaluing guys like Green, Anderson, Mills, Diaw or even LMA big time.

 

[Henkel]

No offense funky. I agree with you most of the time, but in this case I just can't understand, how you are able to convince yourself of the things you wrote.
Excuse me, but switching the pick&roll is not lazy. It's sometimes the only way to deny an open 3. The Spurs did it with great success in the last matchup vs the Warriors. LMA or Diaw guarding Curry wasn't an accident, it was the actual strategy to give Curry no opening to lauch his shots.
And we gave up the Pop out of the pick&roll all season long, like against the Hornets where Spencer friggin Hawes got 3 after 3 on us because of it.
You want to be able to adjust when guarding the pick&roll. You don't want to go into a game and say "Ok we give the Pop to the big" and than watch said big drain open 3 after open 3.
And we are the Kings - we suck!! Teams won't adjust to us, just because we have Ryno in our lineup. We barely can crack 30 wins and keep talking like we are the next big thing.
We aren't. We have 1 dominant offensive player and 1 good defender. That's it. I bet the Spurs and Warriors are scared.
And we already had the discussion about the defensive potential of the Spurs roster. I disagree with your assessment completely. You are undervaluing guys like Green, Anderson, Mills, Diaw or even LMA big time.

I don't want to hijack this conversation, so I'll just say that you don't have to switch to prevent that. Cheating Cousins so far back into the paint every damn pick and roll caused that. Like Funkykingston mention you can blitz/push or just try and play it straight up. Our terrible defense did neither of those things and seemed to be designed to have Cousins protect the paint over coming out on the pick, probably to try and compensate for our terrible perimeter defense which constantly gives up dribble penetration.

 

[funkykingston]

No offense funky. I agree with you most of the time, but in this case I just can't understand, how you are able to convince yourself of the things you wrote.
Excuse me, but switching the pick&roll is not lazy. It's sometimes the only way to deny an open 3. The Spurs did it with great success in the last matchup vs the Warriors. LMA or Diaw guarding Curry wasn't an accident, it was the actual strategy to give Curry no opening to lauch his shots.
And we gave up the Pop out of the pick&roll all season long, like against the Hornets where Spencer friggin Hawes got 3 after 3 on us because of it.
You want to be able to adjust when guarding the pick&roll. You don't want to go into a game and say "Ok we give the Pop to the big" and than watch said big drain open 3 after open 3.
And we are the Kings - we suck!! Teams won't adjust to us, just because we have Ryno in our lineup. We barely can crack 30 wins and keep talking like we are the next big thing.
We aren't. We have 1 dominant offensive player and 1 good defender. That's it. I bet the Spurs and Warriors are scared.
And we already had the discussion about the defensive potential of the Spurs roster. I disagree with your assessment completely. You are undervaluing guys like Green, Anderson, Mills, Diaw or even LMA big time.

I thought when you were talking about switching you were referencing the Kings current scheme which IS not an aggressive switch to prevent the outside shot but a very passive one that gives the roll man deep position after the pick and generally has the big trailing and giving up a lane in the middle.

I don't think Danny Greene is a great defender. And Anderson was dinged at draft time because he was slow and lacked lateral foot speed. Patty Mills was a poor defender initially and Diaw has become pretty good and a versatile defender but was often cited for inconsistent effort early in his career. Even Belinelli never looked as bad with the Spurs as he has this season with the Kings.

San Antonio has a fantastic team defense more than anything. It certainly doesn't hurt that their best player (Duncan for years and now Leonard) has been a fantastic individual defender.

They were aggressive on the perimeter against Curry but the other huge part of that is that the interior guys made their rotations to deny him when he tried to turn the corner.

It's great to be a physical freak with a huge wingspan and great quickness but the biggest part of defense to me is consistent effort and everyone making the right read and adjustment.

Seth Curry has been the Kings best on ball defender and that's just desire on his part more than anything.

It's frustrating to watch the Kings lose year after year and maybe they won't win with Cousins period. But if they are going to build around Boogie I think you need to deal Gay for a role player or two (3& D guys ideally), improve team defense dramatically and add consistent shooting.

I don't think Anderson is a savior and his value depends on matchups but I can definitely envision scenarios where Cousins is killing teams inside and he's surrounded by shooters than punish double teams.

 

[ovrush]

Ryan has played a fair amount of SF in his career (especially early). But the way the league has gone has made him more of a PF.

Considering the physical gifts of Willie, and the offensive gifts of Anderson and Boogie... Couldn't you conceivably play all three together if you wanted to be creative? Willie can guard most 3s defensively, and it's not like the spacing would be weird on the other end because Anderson and Bogie both have some range. Anderson is mobile enough to guard other teams stretch 4s as well. It's not something I would trot out a ton... but it certainly could create serious matchup issues. Especially if WCS actually has the modicum of offensive talent he's seemed to show recently and you have him set up to be guarded by guys 5 inches shorter than he is.

 

[KingMilz]

I bet it doesn't suprise you that I disagree completely. Under the current ruleset and with the way the game is officiated now the current Warriors would beat the 2000's Lakers or Spurs. People just live in the past, because they assume the past with glory days of the NBA or something strange.
There are plenty of skilled big man in this league, that would have been dominant in the 90's. Problem is, they aren't dominant today. Yes Cousins, AD, Towns are great, but they don't win. And we can point at the supporting cast all day and ignore, that teams like the Blazers, Celtics or Hawks even exist.
Problem is that Cousins won't be guarded 1vs1 by an undersized player. He won't shoot 60%. He shoots under 50% during the regular season. One can expect, that this number would go down even more in a tight playoff series.
There is no team in this league, that is built around a dominant big man and only puts shooters around them to play inside out.
Why is that?
If it's only about shooting why not sign a bunch of guys like lets say Rasual Butler and let Boogie run the show.
You truly believe that would be enough to beat one of the best teams this league has ever seen?

Give Big KAT time he as a rookie compared to AD/Cuz is on a completely different planet he's better than both at the same age. Agree with the rest of the post.

 

[ParniValjak]

I bet it doesn't suprise you that I disagree completely. Under the current ruleset and with the way the game is officiated now the current Warriors would beat the 2000's Lakers or Spurs. People just live in the past, because they assume the past with glory days of the NBA or something strange.
There are plenty of skilled big man in this league, that would have been dominant in the 90's. Problem is, they aren't dominant today. Yes Cousins, AD, Towns are great, but they don't win. And we can point at the supporting cast all day and ignore, that teams like the Blazers, Celtics or Hawks even exist.
Problem is that Cousins won't be guarded 1vs1 by an undersized player. He won't shoot 60%. He shoots under 50% during the regular season. One can expect, that this number would go down even more in a tight playoff series.
There is no team in this league, that is built around a dominant big man and only puts shooters around them to play inside out.
Why is that?
If it's only about shooting why not sign a bunch of guys like lets say Rasual Butler and let Boogie run the show.
You truly believe that would be enough to beat one of the best teams this league has ever seen?

Because there is a clear and distinct lack of franchise big men in the league these days. It is why the teams have gone away from the inside out game. There is not many franchise level big man that can dominate down low.

If you couldn't win with Cousins or AD or KAT why is it that every single team in the league would love to have those guys on their roster to build around. Lakers are one of the most successful franchises in the league. They know what it takes to win so why did they want to trade for Cousins during the off-season? Why is Boston always resurfacing as a destination for Cousins every time someone raises the possibility of him getting traded?

It's because dominant low post big men are as rare as rocking horse crap these days. It is the easiest way to become a contender.

 

[iowamcnabb]

If Ryan wants to come here on a reasonable deal i'm all for it but a near max deal for a guy who's shooting % have been crap the last two years with questiobale defense

I know this was a typo but it should totally be a word. must read in spanish accent.

 

[206Fan]

Considering the physical gifts of Willie, and the offensive gifts of Anderson and Boogie... Couldn't you conceivably play all three together if you wanted to be creative? Willie can guard most 3s defensively, and it's not like the spacing would be weird on the other end because Anderson and Bogie both have some range. Anderson is mobile enough to guard other teams stretch 4s as well. It's not something I would trot out a ton... but it certainly could create serious matchup issues. Especially if WCS actually has the modicum of offensive talent he's seemed to show recently and you have him set up to be guarded by guys 5 inches shorter than he is.

As good of a defender WCS is, he can't guard SFs for more than 5-6 possessions. It just won't work. He has the athleticism and speed, but he's a guy who would be great for switching, but not great at defending 1-5 like Draymond Green.

Another thing underlooked would be our defensive rebounding. First, WCS isn't a good rebounder. He gets most of his "rebounds" from putbacks. He might be one of the worst at boxing outs. Once you put him guarding the perimeter, his rebounding ability completely goes away.

Anderson is a poor rebounder.

So your only real rebounder would be Cousins in the paint. I imagine lots of 2nd chance points with that lineup.

 

[KingMilz]

To me if your going to give a guy a massive deal than try giving one to Evan Fournier (which I'm not sure he deserves either) before Anderson, both bring 3 point shooitng (both good 3rd options) and Evan brings better playmaking and upgrades the SG position while still having far more potential. I think in the past few seasons we made the mistake of giving good players who have maxed out big deals e.g Rudy Gay/Rondo that are not game changers in terms of helping you win and Anderson would be the 3rd one.

 

[Glenn]

Anderson is now making $8 mil which is nowhere near a massive deal.

 

[KingMilz]

Anderson is now making $8 mil which is nowhere near a massive deal.

Ok if we sign him to the equivalent to 8million when the cap goes up I'm all for it but I've seen reports he's going to get a near max deal or so

 

[KingsCitizen]

Be careful to sign a guy who's forte is shooting from deep with a boatload of cash. We already have exhibit A a.k.a Marco Belinelli who everyone including me was happy to have in the roster. But we all know what happened after.

 

[ParniValjak]

Be careful to sign a guy who's forte is shooting from deep with a boatload of cash. We already have exhibit A a.k.a Marco Belinelli who everyone including me was happy to have in the roster. But we all know what happened after.

I am confident that with a new coach who will use Marco in a manner that plays to his strengths will see him return to the sharp shooting veteran that he has been all of his career.

This season has been derailed by a stubborn, senile, egomaniac of a coach who has misused majority of the roster to cater to his system.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Ok if we sign him to the equivalent to 8million when the cap goes up I'm all for it but I've seen reports he's going to get a near max deal or so

I really don't feel like Anderson is a max guy. I don't think that just because the cap is going up that all of a sudden everybody is going to be getting max deals. Anderson is a guy who should be something like your fourth-best piece and is likely starting the decline phase of his career - I don't think there's the market pressure to max a guy like that out.

 

[Hoovtrain]

I hope they also go after Conley. Maybe move Gay to try to land Batum as well. Improve the perimeter defense and give better flexibility IMO

 

[funkykingston]

I really don't feel like Anderson is a max guy. I don't think that just because the cap is going up that all of a sudden everybody is going to be getting max deals. Anderson is a guy who should be something like your fourth-best piece and is likely starting the decline phase of his career - I don't think there's the market pressure to max a guy like that out.

I really like the idea of Anderson as a stretch four next to Cousins but I agree. Small market or not, the Kings can't afford to give huge deals to guys that aren't key players. If a team is willing to max out Anderson then the Kings need to look at other options rather than dropping that kind of contract on him.

 

[The_Jamal]

Considering the physical gifts of Willie, and the offensive gifts of Anderson and Boogie... Couldn't you conceivably play all three together if you wanted to be creative? Willie can guard most 3s defensively, and it's not like the spacing would be weird on the other end because Anderson and Bogie both have some range. Anderson is mobile enough to guard other teams stretch 4s as well. It's not something I would trot out a ton... but it certainly could create serious matchup issues. Especially if WCS actually has the modicum of offensive talent he's seemed to show recently and you have him set up to be guarded by guys 5 inches shorter than he is.

Ugh.. just no.

The point of Anderson is to create a 3-headed monster of a big rotation that compliments each others talents. DMC-Anderson fit. WCS-Anderson fit. DMC-WCS fit. So theoretically, we're getting 96 quality minutes from our bigs as opposed to 70 or so that most teams gets. You lose that the second you start playing around with WCS or Anderson at the SF position.

Anderson is an awesome fit and makes a lit if ill fitting pieces work a lot better

 

[bajaden]

Anderson isn't athletic, he isn't a great defender and we pretty much all agree, that our troubles start at the defensive end.
I have a hard time understanding, why Anderson is painted as a possible solution for this roster.
I hope Vlade has learned his lesson and goes after fast athletic guys in FA, that are willing defenders and work hard.
Want a stretch 4 to provide more space for Cousins at times? Go after guys like Arthur or Lauvergne. They are cheaper than Ryno and we would still be able to improve our roster on the defensive end.
We got to b figure out ways to handle the Warriors, Blazers and all those small, quick teams on defense first, before we think about adding another offensive weapon.

Anderson was a good defender his first two years in the league, but then he was playing more like a traditional PF. It wasn't until they moved him away from the basket as a stretch four, and sometimes as a SF that his defense started to suffer. He was a pretty good defender at Cal, and was one of the best rebounders in the Pac 12. Anderson is a decent athlete, just not a freak or elite athlete. Look, I'm not going to blow smoke up you know where and tell you that Anderson is going to be a lock down defender, but by the same token, he's not as bad as you seem to think. Bring in a good coach with a good team defense scheme, and I don't think Anderson will be a liability.

I don't think everything as to be either/or. What Anderson brings outweighs whatever negatives he has. Granted, I would love to have a lock down defender somewhere in the starting lineup, and maybe that will be Willie, and/or whoever we end up with at SG. What I do know is that Anderson will make Cousins job a lot easier. We'll be a much better halfcourt team. Lets take it one step at a time and go from there.

 

[bajaden]

Ugh.. just no.

The point of Anderson is to create a 3-headed monster of a big rotation that compliments each others talents. DMC-Anderson fit. WCS-Anderson fit. DMC-WCS fit. So theoretically, we're getting 96 quality minutes from our bigs as opposed to 70 or so that most teams gets. You lose that the second you start playing around with WCS or Anderson at the SF position.

Anderson is an awesome fit and makes a lit if ill fitting pieces work a lot better

I pretty much agree with you, but I do think that you could play all three together for brief periods of the game. Willie would have no problem guarding SF's, where Anderson would be the SF on the offensive side of the ball. Wouldn't want to do it all game though.