3 reasons why the Memphis Grizzlies have to extend Kyle Anderson’s contract

Memphis Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson can play nearly any position on the court

On the last slide, I detailed Kyle Anderson’s importance to this team as Jaren Jackson Jr.’s backup at the power forward position. That wasn’t always the plan for the Grizzlies, but it worked out extremely well last season.

What if I told you that he could fill in for virtually any player on the court. Think about it.

Sure, he may not be able to slide into the center spot — I’ll give you that. Still, virtually any other position is up for grabs. Physically, he may be the polar opposite of Ja Morant, moving in slow motion in contrast to Morant’s hyper-speed, but he consistently runs the point pretty effectively for Memphis.

His length and size allow him to play strong defense, and with improved shooting (36% 3PT FG), he has become a good fit to play the shooting guard spot, even if it’s not his natural position. The three and four spots are his natural fit, which we saw in a high dose last season.

The point that I’m trying to make is that Slow-Mo is as versatile of a player as you’re going to find in the NBA. He doesn’t just serve as insurance for Jaren Jackson Jr. — he could fill in for any player on the team outside of Steven Adams.

This much is evident on the stat sheet, where he has numbers to support the argument that he could play in any position. Anderson has a respectable 0.8 blocks per game, a team-leading 1.2 steals per contest, 12.4 points per outing, and 5.7 rebounds each game. Tell him where to go on the court and he can do it.