Kyle Anderson

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.