Anderson and Scott On the Move
The NBA trade deadline was a big one for guys with UVa ties.
Justin Anderson, who had become a burger-creating, Dirk-following, hustling, cult favorite in Dallas, was traded to Philadelphia with Andrew Bogut and a protected first round pick in exchange for Nerlens Noel.
This may not have been a good deal for Philly, but it’s a good deal for Justin. The pairing of JA and fellow UVa player Rick Carlisle was good for a tug on the ol’ orange and blue heartstrings, but it didn’t really do a ton for Anderson. Carlisle is famously averse to playing young players, and Justin’s struggles to find consistency with his shot can be thanked in part to never getting consistent burn (and also to the longer NBA three-point line and to it remaining to be seen if his improved jumper at UVa was due to a small sample, but I digress…).
Anderson enters maybe the best situation he could find. Philly has maybe the worst group of wing players in the league (the likes of Bobby Covington, Nik Stauskas, and Gerald Henderson get a lot of minutes), so Justin should get the chance to make an impression. The Sixers have played decent defense (a culture Anderson can walk right into) and play at the eighth-fastest pace in the league, which could help him show off his athleticism. Maybe he’ll also show up in Joel Embiid’s Snapchat.
Mike Scott was the other ‘Hoo on the move, and his prospects aren’t quite as good. Scott has been hurt on and off all season and has been really bad (28.8% overall, 14.8% on threes, a 6.0 efficiency rating) when he’s played. At 28 years old and bringing a fair amount of baggage — both the arrest and the dubious honor of once being crowned the worst defensive player in the NBA — to anywhere he goes, one has to wonder how many more stops he has. Here’s hoping he finds his jumper and maybe some of this in Phoenix.
