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Name: Alan Anderson
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 220 pounds
Age: 33
Position: Shooting guard
Experience: Entering his eighth NBA season
Key Stats: 13 GP, 14.8 MIN, 5.0 PTS, 35.6% FG, 32.4% 3P, 9.2 PER
Contract Status: One year remaining worth $1,315,448 fully guaranteed (per Spotrac)
Breakdown: Anderson inked a one-year deal to join the Washington Wizards prior to last season, only to be forced to undergo a pair of ankle operations within a five-month span that kept him in a fancy suit on the bench until halfway through the season. He was able to muster just a handful of games upon his return in February before going down again with a groin strain. In all, he appeared in just 13 games for the Wizards.
Prior to his failed stint in Washington, Anderson had emerged as a solid contributor for the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. He became known as a grit-and-grind type of defender also capable of knocking down the occasional three-ball.
Outlook for 2016-17: Assuming he’s fully recovered from his various ailments from last season, Anderson is a guy capable of giving you some solid minutes on the wing. It’s really just a matter of from where those minutes will come. The Clippers are already pretty well-stocked in the backcourt with J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers sure to hoard the majority of the floor time at shooting guard.
At 6’6”, though, Anderson is big enough to slide in at small forward, where the Clips’ situation is a bit more wobbly. None of Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson or whatever’s left of Paul Pierce’s remains are exactly entrenched, opening the door for Anderson to earn himself a solid rotation role if he’s up to it. Anderson’s positional versatility is also a perfect fit considering Doc Rivers’s newfound fandom of deploying three-guard lineups.
It was a no-brainer for the Clippers to bring him in on a one-year minimum pact and see what he can give them. You can never have enough shooting, plus Anderson is far more useful defensively than either Felton or Crawford. Even if he doesn’t factor into the regular rotation he can come off the bench and hold his own in a pinch.
Doc Rivers seemingly did a fine job this summer in addressing some of the depth concerns that have plagued his team in recent years. The fact that a player of Anderson’s caliber may struggle to crack the rotation is a testament to that.