After Kyle Korver signed in Atlanta and Bojan Bogdanovic couldn't get his buyout reduced, Billy King went to "Plan B," (Plan "C"?): Alan Anderson. The Michigan State product's defense was a big selling point, as were his 35 and 28 point games vs. the Knicks. With little real hope of signing Andrei Kirilenko, Anderson started to look good.
Then, Kirilenko indicated he would sign for the mini-MLE and the Nets moved quickly to get a deal done. But the Nets had liked what they saw in Anderson. With a push from his agent, Mark Bartlestein, the Nets reversed course on the need for a 15th man and agreed to sign the 6'6" swingman to a two-year vets minimum deal, with the second year a player option. With the luxury tax, the deal cost the Nets $4 million this year.
So what does he bring ... beyond defense and big games vs. New York? Ben Couch, in his latest look at the new Nets, uses Anderson's shot charts to gauge his offense. Bottom line: don't leave "A-Squared" alone near the foul line or on the left wing beyond the three point line.
"Anderson's best zone was the area around the free-throw line (.579; 11-19 FGs)," writes Couch, adding, "
"His most attempts outside the restricted area were three-pointers from the left wing. Shooting 2.2 percent better than league average, Anderson connected on .381 (32-84) of those attempts."
On the other hand, Couch notes the right hand side of the court is definitely not his spot. "The far right baseline proved most vexing: Anderson's .182 mark there (4-22 FGs) was 22.4 percent below the league line,"
How much time will Anderson get? Hard to determine now, but there's a toughness to the player who's toiled in China, Croatia, Israel and Spain, as well as the D-League. Like all four of the Nets free agent signings this summer, Anderson had his best season in years, averaging 10.7 points in 23 minutes.
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Alan Anderson's 2012-13 Shot Charts - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets