[Ch.2] Derek Anderson says Rockets his No.1 choice

Tim Melton with ABC13 reported last night that he spoke with Anderson's agent, and that Anderson has narrowed down his choices to the Lakers and Rockets and will make a decision by Sunday.

 

Codell, thanks for the update.

Chances are the money isnt going to be a factor. The Lakers want to SPLIT their MLE on two players. So half of the MLE is 2.5M and our LLE is around 1.6M. The money gets closer when you figure in no income tax in Texas.

The Lakers might be able to offer more minutes at the guard spot but the Rockets offer a better "winning" situation. The fact Anderson has publicly talked about wanting to play on a team with a good center and talked positively about Stro and Tmac tells you something.

The Lakers seem to have switched their attention to Aaron Mckie.

My gut tells me that unless the Lakers offer Anderson MORE than half of their MLE, then Anderson will sign with the Rockets. And I dont think the Lakers will do it. They want two players and feel McKie will sign for half the MLE which allows them to go out and sign another player, perhaps a PG for the other half of the MLE.

 

I didn't see this posted, so I thought I would add this 'other point of view' from a LA paper.


Laker? Rocket? Time to decide
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

One team might as well be heads. The other might as well be tails. That's the difficulty of the decision free-agent guard Derek Anderson faces this weekend.
Anderson will choose in the next 48 hours whether to sign with the Lakers or Houston Rockets, agent Tony Dutt said Friday. Anderson, the NBA's first luxury-tax-amnesty casualty, is seeking a one-year deal with a player option for a second season.

"He's decided he's not going to base it on money, he's going to base it on opportunity," Dutt said. "He wants to go somewhere he can have a big year this year and then see what happens."

Asked if Anderson was favoring one team, Dutt said: "It's like a coin flip at this point."

The Lakers have offered Anderson half of their $5 million midlevel salary-cap exception, and the Rockets would give Anderson their $1.67 million biannual exception. Anderson still is owed $18.8 million from Portland the next two seasons.

Although the Lakers can offer more money, Anderson would make only about $415,000 more in Los Angeles than in Houston next season, based on league rules covering players who are released with guaranteed contracts and signed by another team.

Anderson, 31, would play a significant role in Phil Jackson's triangle offense. He has the size (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) and ability to play both guard spots, and the Lakers need a ball-handler and shooter.

Anderson could start in Houston but would compete with David Wesley for the job.

The Lakers and general manager Mitch Kupchak brought Anderson in for a workout Aug. 8 and all along have been considered the favorites to sign him. Anderson also drew interest from Detroit, Minnesota and Miami. He visited Houston on Thursday.

"They have been very aggressive," Dutt said of the Lakers. "I can tell you from the get-go that Mitch has been very persistent. ... I've probably talked to him more than anyone through this whole thing.

 

I for one hope we can sign him up. I dont like loseing to the Lakers on anything

 

He wants to be a rocket? Get'r done.

 

Unless DA's main concern is $$$, then I can't imagine him picking the Lakers over us. Our team is in so much better shape for the short and long term that if the decision is based on B-ball it should be us.

 

The Lakers' roster is terrible. I can't imagine anyone looking to win a title would seriously consider signing there unless they were on the verge of acquiring a big time player. Hopefully Anderson is more about winning than being a big minute guy on a mediocre team.

 

I hope Derek Anderson is not concerned about losing minutes to David Wesley. At 5' 11 1/2" Wesley could not guard Terry in the playoff series with the Mavericks. I was pleasantly surprised at Wesley's regular season- he scored and defended well at times depending on the matchup. He was inconsistent- though no more than Jim Jackson had been.

Wesley is 35 years old. He will be dealt before the trade deadline hopefully. Derek should get the bulk of those minutes if his health allows.

If Derek Anderson signs for that 1.67 mil -it is substatially less than Wesley at 5 million plus

 

if you believe that LA article, DA is not interested in winning as a team as much as showcasing his game and earning a fat contract next year. It is a toss up for him. Playing with the winner (us) and earning minutes, or playing with the loser (lakers) and getting secured minutes? Which one is more likely to get him a fat contract next summer? Hard to say.

 

Am I thinking of someone else, or didn't Anderson leave the world champion Spurs for a big bucks contract elsewhere?

 

Exactly. I was okay w/ DA until I heard that. If DA is only interested in padding his stats then that isn't what I'd like to see on this team. In that case, I'd much rather have Spree for the LLE.

I could see DA turning into a locker room cancer. People can accuse Spree of a lot of things but he's generally been a good teammate and works hard.

 

You cant blame the man for jettin out of SA for the cheese. Most players hold an NBA championship as one of their main goals, which he got early in his career. It was now time to get paid. And that he did do. I htink he really misses being on a team with league significance and power. He gets that here, not LA. I think he wants to improve his game on leave this sport on a high note. He gets that here, not LA. He wants to be on a team gets attention for its great play and potential greatness. He gets that here, he'll get that in LA, but not for those same reasons.

 

He didnt win a championship with the Spurs. He was in a similar situation as Mo Taylor, signed a mid level 2 yr contract with an 2nd yr option in which he got away from the Clippers. The Spurs were suppose to give DA more money after his first year, kind of a wink wink deal we did with Mo, but SA didnt bulge, which is why he was traded in a sign and trade deal for Steve Smith and I believe Steve Kerr. The following year is when the Spurs won the title, 2003.

2002 playoffs were in SA favor but got ousted by the eventual champion Lakers, and part of that reason is that DA was injured during the playoffs and barely played during the Lakers-SA series.

EDIT: Freaky, m_cable and I were on the same page at the same time

 

Anderson didn't win a title in SA. He was on one of the teams that got bounced by the Lakers. In fact DA was supposed to be the guy to matchup with Kobe. But he got injured and didn't play in the series (or didn't play much, I don't remember).

Portland wanted to give him a big offer (6 years 48 million). The spurs weren't willing to go that high, so goodbye Anderson.

 

According to the NBA website, he was on Spurs only during 00-01 season, when LA won the championship. So he has not got a ring yet.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/derek_anderson/index.html

Plus, I think for most players, only when they get paid and is getting old would they put winning a championship a priority over money. I think DA now is at that point in his career.

 

I agree with this especially when he'll be making 18 Million or whatever over the next 2 seasons. 415,000 isn't much of a difference when you consider the money he will be making from Portland.

 

I would bet that DA believes he has 5-6 more years in the league is he stays healthy, so he is playing for his last hoorah contract in 2 years. Ususally when you have that situation you get the best performance the player has to offer when their playing for a new contract.

So Da has two incentives to play for the Rockets: play for a title shot, and a new contract. With the Lakers it is just playing for a new contract.

So I would say he will sign with the Rockets if they offer him the spot, and we get two good years out of him if he is injury free.

 

And that is what bothers me about DA. If he is primarily playing for a new contract and he doesn't get enough touches/PT, then he already has a history of whining and he obviously will complain here too...since he's playing for a contract.

Between two guys w/ questionable backgrounds, I'd take Spree over DA.

 

Anderson for the LLE in "NBA Terms" is a steal! Sprewell for the LLE in "NBA Terms" is another steal.

The Rockets have 4 guys that can play SG. 3 of those guys are starters. Only Barry is off the bench. So, either McGrady will be playing a lot of minutes or Surra will be moving to SG a lot.

I think that Anderson, Sprewell, or Finley(I've not heard much about him lately) really solidify the SG/SF positions. This team sacrafices so much defense when Wesley sits, and so much offense when Bowen is on the court (Bowen is McGrady's only backup ---- "SCARY"). Barry is a high energy shooter that will make life a lot easier for McGrady and Yao, but he will also make life easier on whomever he is guarding.

Whomever the Rockets sign, is sorely needed. All Rocket fans are ecstatic about the Swift signing. But an almost equal need is the backup swing man position. As it stands When McGrady/Wesley sit, here comes Bowen/J.Barry.

My gut feeling is that Sprewell is more apt to play SF, therefore, given the choice, he will be picked. I have no problem with that, except that Sprewell is really starting to show his age on the court. And as we all know, that decline in productiong for some player comes down like a boulder sinking in water "FAST"!!!!

Anderson backing up Wesley and McGrady, plus is in his early 30's makes more sense long term. But, I've never really heard or seen Anderson play SF.

 

Anderson has already said he met with van gundy and the staff and they were upfront and honest with him which is something he respects. i take that to mean they layed out roles and certain things they expect from him. if he chooses to play here under a coach with the reputation of jvg i also assume that means he's going to bust his ass while at the same time be cognisant of his role and the good of the team.