PF Ryan Anderson, Unrestricted Free Agent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iryXKXwLrX0
Age: 28 years old
Size: 6’10, 240 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 17 points; 6.0 rebounds; 1.1 assists per game
Percentages: 42.7% from the field; 36.6% from three-point; 67.3% from the free throw line
Ryan Anderson is one of the bigger names in this free agent class. His outside jumper is how he has made a career and will be what continues to make him money. As he has gotten older, his rebounding numbers have dwindled, and he does not take smaller players into the post nearly as often. His ability to destroy teams from beyond the arc is known around the league, and he demands attention on the perimeter.
Anderson does have some substantial short comings, though. He is borderline awful defensively. Anderson has not had a better defensive rating than 110 since the 2011/12 season. Averaging only four defensive rebounds and two offensive rebounds is far less than ideal, and he has a ratio of 1.4 turnovers to 1.1 assists. Anderson does not provide help side defense and brings nothing in terms of rim protection either. He has never had a season where he averaged more than 0.6 blocks per game.
Having the veteran presence of Anderson and his ability to hit a shot from anywhere beyond the three-point arc is desperately needed by the Nuggets, but to pay somewhere near a max contract for a sweet shooting power forward who does not pass, rebound, block shots or play even average defense is the definition of over-paying for a big-name free agent.
