Memphis Grizzlies fans are very passionate and many of them are not going to be pleased with this post. In fact, I almost didn’t publish this because I thought that it may be an extremely unpopular opinion. Even so, you should allow me a chance to convince you. What am I rambling about, you ask?
I’m talking about the possibilty of trading Kyle Anderson. Think about it.
A year before this past saeson, how much value did Anderson bring to the Grizzlies? Slow-Mo was a decent role player, but he averaged 5.8 points, 2.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 20 minutes. He was an afterthought on a team that missed the NBA Playoffs.
In 2021, Anderson had one of the most unexpected breakout seasons of anybody in the league. It would be stupid to say that he should have won Most Improved Player for this past season, but that’s exactly what he did. Improve.
Memphis Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson’s value will only go down from here
You can call me a pessimist but it won’t change the fact that Kyle Anderson is at peak value right now. The long-framed forward saw an opporunity in 2020-21 and ran with it.
With Jaren Jackson Jr. out, Anderson received playing time that won’t be available in the future. Heck, it wasn’t even available at the end of last season. After playing over 30 minutes per contest in the first three games of the playoffs, Anderson’s minutes dropped to 24 in game four.
In game five, he played just 18 minutes, which is a close number to his average from the 2019-20 season.
Taylor Jenkins opted to go with his former 4th overall pick in Jaren Jackson Jr. to eat up time on the floor, sending a message that this team has its starting power forward and its not Slow-Mo. As much as everybody loves Slow-Mo, his fate on this team is to be a really strong role player.
Barring any sort of disaster, Jackson Jr. will only continue to eat up more minutes. And with Jackson’s increased minutes, we’ll see Anderson lose more minutes.
Because of this, the Memphis Grizzlies should trade Kyle Anderson right now. It’s simple business really. A year from now, his numbers will be down, he’ll be a year older, and teams will not hold the same level of interest in him.
Right now, he looks like a player who can start on an NBA Playoff team. And that’s exactly who he is.
I’m not saying the Grizzlies have to trade him right now. I’m saying that if they plan on trading him or letting him go in the near future, they should look for a deal this offseason. Otherwise, they’ll only see diminishing returns.
Already, we’ve seen the Boston Celtics show interest in Anderson and I doubt they’re the only NBA team. Again, this isn’t me saying that the Grizzlies have to trade Anderson, simply a proclamation that they should explore the possibility.