Big Ticket as Big Mentor: Alan Anderson's link to Kevin Garnett

It's an oft-told tale, but Alan Anderson told it again Wednesday: about how he first met his new teammate, Kevin Garnett, while a middle-schooler at a KG basketball camp in Minnesota.

"He talked to me more so as a friend than somebody I looked up to, even though he was my mentor," Anderson told beat writers in a conference call. "Throughout my career, in high school, in college, my early professional career – he always kept in touch. So a kid from the inner city (in Minnesota), talking to Kevin Garnett, it was huge because it showed me the type of person I wanted to be."

That career included stops in Charlotte in the NBA as well as teams in Croatia, Israel, China, Spain and then in Canada with the Raptors last year. He said he's spoken with Jason Kidd about his role. Kidd called him the team's "dark horse" in a meeting with season ticket holders earlier in the week.

"Just always be ready because our roster is so deep," Anderson said of his conversation with Kidd. "Some nights I might not play, some nights I might play a lot."

• Alan Anderson and Kevin Garnett share a long-term relationship, rooted in a meeting at a basketball camp - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Nets’ Anderson Makes It All Way Back - Steve Aschburner - NBA.com
  
• New Net Anderson: Former Raptors teammate Bargnani could thrive with Knicks - Marc Berman - New York Post
• Anderson says Nets can topple Knicks - Marc Berman - New York Post
• Anderson, Wanting to Win, Joined Nets - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
• Anderson: We've got talent to top Knicks - Ian Begley - ESPN New York
• Nets' roster locked and loaded - John Torenli - Brooklyn Eagle
• Nets Introduce Alan Anderson, Andrei Kirilenko Introduction Coming Thursday - Josh Newman - SNY Nets