Atlanta Hawks: Free agent James Anderson gets camp invite
Hawks GM Danny Ferry says Spurs free agent James Anderson has been invited to join the team’s veterans camp. Anderson apparently will accept, according to a tweet by former teammate Danny Green.
Anderson, 23, likely will join the Hawks on a summer contract. If it proves to be a good fit for team and player, Anderson would be signed to the roster on a non-guaranteed contract to fill the defensive-minded wing role Ferry is seeking (though it’s notable that Anderson has played most of his minutes at shooting guard).
Anderson, San Antonio’s first-round pick in the 2010 draft, has played just 889 total minutes in two seasons. During that limited time his offensive production and efficiency have been bad. Anderson’s defensive on-court, off-court and opponent PER have been positive but his Synergy defensive stats have been poor, especially in isolation.
All of that comes with the usual Small Sample Size Disclaimer. Obviously Ferry, who saw Anderson up close as a Spurs executive, believes Anderson has potential. Anderson was a very good offensive player at Oklahoma State, as Michael Kamalsky noted at DraftExpress.com before the 2010 draft:
James Anderson was nothing short of spectacular last season, and it shows here. His 1.07 overall PPP ranks second amongst all players, as do his 20 possessions used per-game. He was above the PPP every in every situation except for guarded catch and shoot situations, and has more experience running the pick and roll (2.9 Pos/G) than any other player on our rankings. High usage/high-efficiency players are extremely difficult to come by, and NBA teams may want to ponder if they’re missing the boat on Anderson due to the fact that he has not been spectacular in workouts. The same thing happened last year with Marcus Thornton.
Michael A. De Leon, writing for Project Spurs, says Anderson is a good pick up for Ferry:
The Hawks, who could use some help at shooting guard with the loss of Joe Johnson, could be making quite the sleeper move here. Anderson is a capable scorer and slasher and at times showed signs of improving on the defensive end, but he lost his confidence with the Spurs after he failed to make an impression on the coaching staff when he stepped in for Manu [Ginobili] against Golden State last season.
Anderson had been the sixth or seventh man off the bench and when the Spurs started Green after Anderson’s [disappointing] performance, Anderson’s time on the floor began going downhill and at times didn’t come off the bench at all.
Clearly the Hawks could use more help at small forward than at shooting guard. If Anderson can play the wing and prove to be a competent offensive player and reliable defender, he could earn a job and a role with the Hawks.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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194 comments Add your comment
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:22 am
Vava74 – You never know about that stuff however – it takes at least two to make a trade – so we gotta roll with what we have until/if a trade happens.
We may finish the season with this mix, and go into next summer with boatloads of money to spend.
Or Harris and others may be gone Sept 12th
MsDee
August 28th, 2012
11:27 am
Michael Cunningham @ajchawks
Kenny Atkinson officially hired as #Hawks assistant.
MsDee
August 28th, 2012
11:28 am
Michael Cunningham @ajchawks
#Hawks hire Jeff Watkinson as strength coach.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:28 am
All I know is, even with this unbalanced, somewhat defensively challenged team, I like it, and it’s going to be fun.
This is looking like a free wheeling team, with a bunch of guys at or near their primes, with tons of speed, nastiness (including Stevenson – thanks Vava!), shooters, and top tier young players in Josh, Al, Lou, and Teague.
Properly coached, I like this squad. Now the coaching, that is another story.
But if LD can pull a 40-26 out of a team, with JT as your 3rd best player, and maybe ZaZa as the 4th best and Marvin as 5th best – I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt until he proves me wrong.
Ok, so he lost the Boston series also.
I would have fired him March of 2011 – but he’s here – seemed to improve a little – so we’ll see what he’s got this season.
MsDee
August 28th, 2012
11:28 am
Michael Cunningham @ajchawks
#Hawks hire Bob Weiss as coaching advisor. Will sit behind bench during games.
MsDee
August 28th, 2012
11:28 am
Michael Cunningham @ajchawks
Rick Sund moves to senior advisor role for #Hawks. Will split time between ATL and SEA.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:32 am
AJ – I don’t even think right this second, JT is an average NBA PG – Top 22 or 23, which is below average.
It’s not even like he’s one of my favorite players really – but I will defend him, you, or anybody, when I feel they are being unfairly accused. In my DNA
Gotta be truthful and just – objective – and I just call ‘um like I see them.
Anyhow man – I respect you – keep on bloggin’ and rootin’ for the Hawks to get a Championship – I guess that’s what unites at least most of us on this blog.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:33 am
Ms Dee – Thanks! That is great news
Go Danny!
Slimjr
August 28th, 2012
11:33 am
Confident Brooklyn Nets talking NBA title
Author: Inside Hoops
Aug 25
Confident Brooklyn Nets talking NBA title
The Nets have yet to play a single as a game as a Brooklyn franchise – or unveil their uniforms, for that matter – but they’re already targeting a championship in Year 1.
Cornerstones Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson set the lofty tone in recent interviews, buoyed by the Nets’ expensive offseason.
“Obviously our main goal is no question the NBA championship. I think it is realistic for us,” Lopez told the Philipine Star during his NBA goodwill tour of the Philippines. “We’re already a good playoff team so with the addition of other pieces, we can target the ring.”
Johnson echoed that sentiment to Sports Illustrated, continuing his confident evaluations of his new squad. During Johnson’s introductory press conference in July, he declared the Nets were “definitely” already better than the Knicks.
– Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News
Read more: http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?cat=34#ixzz24r5Cb5w9
Wait a minute ISO! You guys haven’t even played a game yet but are declaring to be better than the Knicks??? Coach Woody may have something to say about that outrageous proclamation Sir!
Astro Joe
August 28th, 2012
11:34 am
Bob Weiss? Former Hawks head coach? Oh no!
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:34 am
And I could deal with Anthony Tolliver over Jordan Williams or Mike Scott if the staff thought he was better.
Tolliver can give you a quality 10-15 minutes per game. And they say his locker room presence and attitude is amazing.
I read his tweets sometimes, and get alot out of them – sounds like a great guy.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:36 am
AJ – My first thought as well – but then I thought about it – and in that role, probably a good move.
I’m trusting that Danny Ferry right now.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:40 am
And I’m still saying we have 3 of the top 50 players in the NBA – and you surround them with Teague, Harris, ZaZa, Morrow, Ivan, Korver, Jenkins and the like – you’ve got a decently talented, deep team.
Now watch us go 25-57 or something.
Hawks on and off the court are going to be interesting for awhile.
Ken Strickland
August 28th, 2012
11:48 am
ASTRO JOE-In JTeague, you’re talking about a rookie PG that felt he had the, speed, quickness, athleticism, and OFF and DEF talent to start over a player like Mike Bibby, or at least deserve more than token mins. If you were consistently held to a higher standard than the PG you wanted to replace, and the HC forced you to play mistake free ball or you were benched and admonished, what would you do to get more mins?
How can you fix your mouth to say Teague was afraid to challenge some of his teammates when HC LDrew was obviously afraid to challenge those same teammates, namely Josh, Bibby and JJ? When suddenly freed of the burden of being under utilized and over coached, he thrived under extreme conditions to the tune of being the teams playoff MVP.
Just like every other Hawk fan felt last yr, he had to believe Drew would start Hinrich over him as soon as he recovered. And the truth is, if Hinrich hadn’t regressed so badly, it might have happened. Drew still found a way to start him by moving JJ to SF and starting Hinrich at SG, and he became an OFF and DEF liability.
Teague has All star talent, but it isn’t going to happen for him overnight, especially with a HC that doesn’t fully support him. He’s our starting PG because Drew was forced to start him in the playoffs due to injury, and his outstanding performance when he got the chance. I look for us to have 3 players receiving Allstar consideration, AHorford, JSmith, and JTeague.
With the talent and depth we now have, even without JJ and Marvin, we’re going to be a better “TEAM” than we were last yr. Wouldn’t it be something if John Jenkins played and shot himself into the starting SG position, and James Anderson rediscovered his OFF abilities and became our starting SF?
A starting lineup of JAnderson SF, AHorford OC, JSmith PF, JJenkins SG, and JTeague PG, would be a very well balanced team. Offensively, we’d be able to shoot over zones, as well as penetrate and breakdown man to man DEFs. A bench of LWilliams SG/PG, AMorrow SG/SF, DHarris SG/PG, KKorver SG/SF, IJohnson PF/OC, ZPachulia OC, Scott or Benson PFs, and Petro OC, would be solid, talented and deep. Just a thought.
i_am_soulstar
August 28th, 2012
11:49 am
Can anyone tell me the difference between a coaching advisor and an assistant coach besides where they sit during the game? I wasn’t clear when D’Antoni took on the role last season, and I’m not clear now.
Drom John
August 28th, 2012
11:49 am
Spurs fan from Macon.
James Anderson has had stress fractures foot injuries that NBA players historically do not recover from well. Anderson will not again the player he was as Big 12 player of the year. His first step to the hoop has disappeared. That said, his summer league play showed some improvement, and he is a smart, hard working defensive player. While the Spurs have replaced Anderson with Nando de Colo (the only off-season move by the Spurs), for the Hawks, Anderson is a rational end of the bench guy, and a very good practice guy.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:51 am
Slim – The Nets do match up well with the Heat. I take Williams over Chalmers – Lopez over Anthony – JJ can hang with DWade, at least some – Humphries can come close to Bosh – and Wallace, well nobody can stay with LeBron – but Wallace is a good player.
And if the Heat start Battier – Wallace is probably as good or better than Battier is now.
How you beat the Heat is have a good 1 and a 5. Teams that have that, give the Heat fits. Especially if you have some athletes than can make the 2,3,4 spots work for the Heat.
OKC had the 1 in Westbrook – just no 5 at all. What happened to Kendrick Perkins?
But in reality – it just looked like nobody was beating LeBron this year.
People talk all this difference between LeBron and Jordan – I was around for the Jordan years. 1st of all, Jordan improved immensely every year. When he developed his J, it was all over for the rest of the League.
But the biggest difference was at the end of games. Everybody on 6 continents knew Jordan was going to get the ball. And he would get it and score more often than not.
I remember Craig Ehlo blocking his shot in an ECF’s game (think), and Jordan held the ball in mid air as Ehlo had his hand on it clean, double clutched till Ehlo’s hand came off the ball, and nailed the J from the top of the key as time expired as he was descending.
And he knew he was going to do it – confidence galore.
Jordan was unstoppable in the 4th quarter – LeBron has not shown me that nite in and nite out yet.
I agree with DWade – LeBron’s got a ways to go to be equal to Jordan.
Astro Joe
August 28th, 2012
11:55 am
Strickland, sorry, I’m not re-visiting Teague’s rookie season, Jamal’s Hawks career, the 2005 NBA Draft or ‘Nique’s trade for Danny Manning.
In today’s news… vava, yeah, I certainly hope that Ferry is planning to jettison some of the very dispensible players acquired from the Nets… and that Anderson thinks that he can at least be a 3rd string wing for the squad. That would probably require getting rid of at least 2 guards from the current group.
Steve, I hope so. I’ll tell you what, if given the choice of watching LD coach 82 games or having Weiss assume an interim role, I’m going to be the biggest supporter of LD since some around here heard he was replacing Woody (as if that was ever a good decision). Weiss couldn’t relate to players a decade or so ago, I can’t imagine what he would try to say to these guys in 2012.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
11:58 am
KenS – I’m with you on everthing but JT – and he may surprise me – just too many great PG’s in the East in Rondo, DeRon, Irving, and probably Wall developing – and Lowry’s in the East now – Calderon – JRue, Knight – for JT to get the All Star nod.
But he is an incredible athlete. And you are correct in JT being in a no win situation before Hinrich went down in the playoffs.
And JT played great in the playoffs last season – great – for a 1st year starter – and never missed a game.
Back to Jordan – I still remember him with that tongue sticking out – if you played off him, he drained a J – became a great jumpshooter. If you crowded him, 3 steps and he’s at the rim doing something really good – a dunk, a finger roll, a +1 etc.
He became the most unstoppable player since Wilt. But Jordan could shoot FT’s.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:00 pm
AJ – Now I agree wholeheartedly about that with Weiss – ok to have him on staff, don’t let him anywhere near the Head Coach’s seat.
ag
August 28th, 2012
12:11 pm
Matt Highsmith I truly not only think Al is a god, I don’t consider him the best NBA center. He clearly led his Olympic team in scoring and rebounding 18/9 and his last full season he was 15/10 (9.9). I know he is much better than ZaZa and almost every center in the league. He is one of the top 10 centers.
The problem is that centers do not grow on trees. This is not playstation, so I cannot make a 7′0 center. Heck, there are free agent 7′0 out there. We even have one (Petro) with the Hawks. I just don’t understand all the criticism on on of our best players. If I need to dish out some criticisms, I am sure I can fill the blogs on Petro and ZaZa.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:13 pm
JT this season I expect to be improved, but with a quality backup like Devin, or possibly Lou if Devin starts, his minutes may be down. This should keep him fresh, but his stats may not be up – his per minute stats yes, but not his overall stats – they may not be up alot.
JT, at 26, has the talent to be a top half of the League PG, in a League that is PG heavy right now.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:15 pm
JT at age 24 this season – we’ll have too see. 13 and 6 would be great in about 30 mpg. – keeping those steals up there – 10th in the NBA in steals last season.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:18 pm
You’d think Morrow, Teague, ZaZa, Josh, Korver and the like would play like crazy this season being in contract years.
It’s a shame that happens, but it does – some guys play hard for a contract, then not so hard.
Some of those guys are going to play hard regardless if past performance is any indication however.
Astro Joe
August 28th, 2012
12:21 pm
See what I mean, Strickland has Anderson in the starting line-up at 11:48. SMDH.
doc
August 28th, 2012
12:25 pm
stress fractures are not a good sign. it was one of the surprises that chills did so well after his on both feet the same year. also zaza may have had a similar problem that we might need to be mindful of in expectations going forward as i dont know if he has tested out his season ending injury yet. ;-(
i would like to know more about james a’s injury, anyone have anything that details it or them and what he has done to correct the problem like chills seemed to do in changing his footwear?
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:28 pm
Assuming that we wouldn’t have signed Lou if we still had JJ, you have to think that if you were trading JJ for:
Lou, Morrow, Petro, Stevenson, and either a 1st or 2nd round pick (from the Rockets thru Brooklyn) and substantial cap relief – those guys make about 13 mill this season compared to JJ’s 19.7 mill – you have to take that trade.
We had guys wanting to trade JJ for 2 second picks just to get his contract off the books.
And we got JJ at ages 29 and 30, the best years of his contract, and the cheapest when he “only” made 16.4 mill and 18.1 mill – it’s all uphill salarywise for him from here and age wise also.
About D12 leaving LA – Maybe – Nash, Kobe, Gasol, and MWP – Dwight’s gotta see that team has at most a 2 year window with their age – he may want to come to a younger team that has a better future.
But they look pretty good in the present.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:29 pm
Doc – It was the outside bone of his foot if that means anything to you.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:31 pm
The bone below the little toe that keeps going down that entire side of his foot, if I read the article about his injury correctly.
SteveW
August 28th, 2012
12:35 pm
Hawks just hired a strength coach. Know nothing about him
Soulstar – Your only allowed so many bench coach’s active during games – but you can have a guy that sits behind the bench, no input during games (I think), and can kind of go from there.
Slimjr
August 28th, 2012
12:35 pm
Foot fractures? Oh man..Not good..
JOSH IS BEAST
August 28th, 2012
12:48 pm
turn to NBA tv n Watch deshawn Stevenson help hold lebron. as Dallas beats mia for championship …yes our deshawn Stevenson!!! …FIRSTTTTT
JOSH IS BEAST
August 28th, 2012
12:55 pm
he is a 3. ( sf) by nature …and a Great defender …deshawn Stevenson at 3… Jenkins at two teague at 1 ..
vava74
August 28th, 2012
12:57 pm
Summer League 2012 stat lines:
J. Anderson G 27:25 FG3-5 3PT0-0 FT3-3 ± +3 Oreb1 DReb1 Reb2 Ast0 PF1 STL0 TO1 BLK0 BA0 PTS9
J. Anderson G 18:14 FG5-7 3PT1-1 FT2-3 ± +5 Oreb2 Dreb2 Reb4 Ast0 PF0 STL0 TO1 BLK0 BA0 PTS13
J. Anderson G 27:21 FG3-8 3PT1-2 FT1-1 ± -4 Oreb2 Dreb5 Reb7 Ast3 PF3 STL1 TO2 BLK1 BA1 PTS8
J. Anderson G 27:24 FG4-11 3PT2-3 FT0-0 ± +1 Oreb2 Dreb5 Reb7 Ast1 PF3 STL0 TO4 BLK0 BA1 PTS10
J. Anderson G 32:26 FG3-11 3PT2-6 FT5-6 ± -9 Oreb2 Dreb3 Reb5 Ast6 PF2 STL1 TO5 BLK0 BA1 PTS13
2012 (Las Vegas) SAS G5 GS5 Mpg26.6 FG%0.429 3PT%0.500 FT%0.846 OReb1.8 DReb3.2 ROG5.0 Apg2.0 STK0.4 BLK0.2 TO2.6 PF1.8 PPG10.6
doc
August 28th, 2012
1:09 pm
yeah? the fifth metatarsal then, once or several times?
where was the article stevew and thanks for info?
again upgrading medical one of the df goals along with analytics might help the guy
vava74
August 28th, 2012
1:10 pm
what? no reactions to these staggering stats?
on the good side, he seems to have recovered his long ball (not that the SL stats translate into anything on the real action but still…) and he seems to be a guy able to fill up his stat line.
on the bad side, he did fill up his stat line with a couple of horrible nights turnover wise.
MsDee
August 28th, 2012
1:12 pm
new blog up
Astro Joe
August 28th, 2012
1:15 pm
vava, what I took from those stats is that he got a goodly amount of playing time (26 minutes/game) and couldn’t maintain employment with the team that drafted him in the first round two years earlier. He may be able to work his way into the rotation by game 50 of the regular season, but I wouldn’t pencil him in above the other 37 guards on the roster just yet.
Me
August 28th, 2012
8:40 pm
Atlanta would be in a better position with Al Thornton, at least he can score, rebound and pass the ball. Far from a bench warmer.
Me
August 28th, 2012
8:42 pm
And I forgot, he is a native of Perry, Georgia. Home town talent.
Anderson asked to Hawks camp - Indiana News Feed | Indiana News Feed
August 29th, 2012
3:48 am
[...] According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Anderson’s best hope is to impress Hawks brass — including new general manager Danny Ferry — enough during camp to land a make-good deal for the season. [...]
Ryan
August 29th, 2012
1:42 pm
ok hawks, you signed all these new coaches or whatever, i think its time to start getting players that will actually benifit us for the season, and james anderson will not do it. if danny ferry wanted a wing player that bad, then he had plenty of chances to get micheal beasly, carlos delfino, alonzo gee, and many more, and if you think the team is going to be that good with kyle korver starting at small forward prepare for us to have a bad season
NBA Rumors: Breaking Down All of the Whispers Involving the Atlanta Hawks | :: Sparxxrx LLC ::
August 29th, 2012
7:32 pm
[...] from his former teammate, Danny Green. Atlanta Journal Constitution blogger, Michael Cunningham, writes that Anderson is probably joining the Hawks on a summer contract, at which point he would have to earn his way on [...]
SuckerFree
August 29th, 2012
8:00 pm
They could have had SF….his name is Perry Jones……
too bad we passed on him