UPDATE: Anderson has been invited to the Hawks veteran camp.
Hawks GM Danny Ferry says Spurs free agent James Anderson has been invited to join the team’s veterans camp.
I have to start off by saying I have no confirmation of this, all the reports are going off a tweet from Danny Green on Friday that said:
“Got to show love n shout my guy @25_Anderson (James Anderson’s Twitter account) out for the new deal with Atlanta…Congrats man! Bright future ahead”
However, I have yet to see any reports contradicting Green’s statement and I can’t think of any reason he would have to make this up.
I’ve also been expecting this for a while. James Anderson has no incentive to stick around in San Antonio, playing in the shadows of guys like Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, etc.
Anderson has some talent, but it just wasn’t enough to get more than 11 minutes a game for the Spurs. He was never going to make it off that bench if he stuck around.
So let’s assume he’s going to the Atlanta Hawks, who could use a solid shooting guard after the departure of Joe Johnson. Is this the right pick up for them?
It’s hard to say yes, even though I like James Anderson. His shooting numbers were pretty awful last year for a guy who’s supposed to play shooting guard. However, maybe we can attribute that to his lack of consistent minutes. Maybe if he gets some solid playing time in Atlanta, which he surely will if he’s headed there after all, he can become what the Spurs never got to develop him into.
I’m sure nobody in San Antonio has any hard feelings about Anderson leaving. The Spurs just weren’t the right fit for him. If he can somehow grow four to six inches and become a power forward or a center, the Spurs would welcome him back with open arms, but obviously that won’t happen.
I hope James Anderson finds his place in Atlanta (again, assuming this is all true) and finally gets to show off what he’s actually capable of. He deserves a real shot.
