When the Nets traded Vince Carter for Courtney Lee and pieces on Draft Night 2009, they also lost one of their best young players in Ryan Anderson, then just turned 21. The trade, easily Rod Thorn's worst at Nets GM, was made worse by the rumors that Thorn's deputy, Kiki Vandeweghe, pushed the deal because he felt Anderson was thwarting Yi Jianlian's development.
Now 27 and a free agent this summer, would the former Most Improved Player consider a return to the Nets, now playing in Brooklyn? He didn't say no in a conversation with Andy Vasquez.
"Well, they traded me away, so," Anderson told The Record as his voice trailed off with a laugh. "No, I think they're a great team. They have a lot of great potential. For me, it's just not really on my mind right now. That's so far from now, and so many different things can happen."
The 6'10" Anderson is having his best season, averaging 17.5 points and shooting 40.2 percent from deep while garnering six rebounds a game. Of course, he plays the same position as Thaddeus Young, who's also having his best year and is also 27. His skillset and age would like put him in the $10 million plus range next July.
If the Nets did want to woo Anderson, who better to do it than Brook Lopez, his old friend and Halloween trick-or-tweet partner.
"He's one of those friends where no matter how long it's been, you catch up immediately," Anderson said of Lopez. "I don't think we've ever had a basketball conversation in our lives. … You imagine a basketball player — all they talk about is basketball — so I kind of connect and draw toward the guys that have more substance."