ChrisAndersen available for one year vet minimum; Do we want him?

[csfansince60s]

From RealGM:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/222792/Chris_Andersen_Open_To_Signing_For_Veterans_Minimum

"Chris Andersen is reportedly open to signing for the one-year veteran’s minimum.

Andersen will still collect $4.5 million next season from the Nuggets after being amnestied.

Anderson appeared in only 32 games last season, averaging 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 15.2 minutes.
Via Jared Zwerling/ESPNNewYork"

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/222792/Chris_Andersen_Open_To_Signing_For_Veterans_Minimum#ixzz22XLouNOA

I know that there is a cloud hanging over his head. Can rebound and block shots, though. Low risk, high reward.

I'm sure Danny will be looking and considering the plus/minus on this.

I'd like to get him.

[Eja117]

unfortunately we probably do

[MJohnnyboy]

Probably not. We have Wilcox and Sullinger to be the primary back-up bigs. Jeff Green will be the 4 in small ball groups, and Jason Collins will be used against teams with size. Not sure if there is any space for Chris Andersen.

I'd say a wing like Mickael Pietrus or Marquis Daniels would be more useful at this point to fill in the last spot.

[AB_Celtic]

Do we want to use that last roster spot, or leave it open in case of injury?

[csfansince60s]

I think that if the legal cloud was not hanging over him, we would've/should've considered using the BAE on him. He's probably as good if not better than most bigs that will be available later in the season.

For the minimum, I think it's a no (Bird) brainer.

[Who]

I hope so. I'd love to have Chris Andersen here.

I am not comfortable at all relying on Fab Melo for anything during his rookie year. The number of 7 footers who are meaningful contributors in their first year out of college that were selected outside of the lottery ... well, they're crappy odds.

Chris Andersen is a very good backup center in the league. A solid defender and very good possession creator. Plays with great energy and is a fantastic teammate. I also think his skill-set is a really good contrast to Jason Collins (low post defense). He offers something different to Collins and that gives Doc another option in his arsenal.

So yeah, definitely, I'd love to have Chris Andersen here.

[Roy H.]

I would have preferred him over Jason Collins.  He's a better player by a wide margin.

[Kane3387]

Doubt it. He is 34 and sucks. He will be lucky to get the vet. min. from anyone.

[AB_Celtic]

I would have preferred him over Jason Collins.  He's a better player by a wide margin.

How's his defense? Because that's really all we signed Collins for... so we won't collapse with KG off the court.

[Roy H.]

Doubt it. He is 34 and sucks. He will be lucky to get the vet. min. from anyone.

He doesn't suck.  He's injury prone, and will probably miss 40 games next year, but when he's on the court he's an extremely good rebounder and a good defender, and he provides decent offense.

The question marks are the health and his legal issues, to whatever extent those may be ongoing.

[Roy H.]

I would have preferred him over Jason Collins.  He's a better player by a wide margin.

How's his defense? Because that's really all we signed Collins for... so we won't collapse with KG off the court.

Here's a post I wrote previously comparing Andersen and Collins:

I would have preferred Chris Andersen.

Rebounding:

Birdman:  11.9% Offensive Rebound Rate; 23.3% Defensive Rebound Rate; 17.8% Total Rebound Rate
Collins: 4.6% Offensive Rebound Rate; 13.6% Defensive Rebound Rate; 9.1% Total Rebound Rate

Compared to last year's Celtics team, Andersen would have been our best rebounder by a fairly large margin (KG's TRB% was 16.8%).  Andersen would have been our best offensive rebounder, as well, and would have been second only to KG in defensive boards.  Compared to Collins, Andersen is literally twice the rebounder that he is.  Collins' rebound percentage would have been 9th on the Celtics, virtually tied with Paul Pierce. 

In other words, Andersen is an excellent rebounder, and Collins is very, very bad.

Offense:

Birdman:  12.4 points per 36 minutes; 0.4 assists per 36 minutes; 1.3 turnovers per 36 minutes; 54.6% FG%; 61.0% FT%; Offensive Rating:  119 (!!)
Collins:  4.6 points per 36 minutes; 1.2 assists per 36 minutes; 1.2 turnovers per 36 minutes; 40.0% FG%; 46.7% FT%; Offensive Rating:  87 (!!)

There's no comparison on this end of the floor.  Andersen is a much better scorer, and a much more efficient scorer.  Collins does average more assists, but his turnover rate (rather than raw turnovers) is much worse:  17.7% vs. 10.6%.

Defense:

Birdman:  3.4 blocks per 36 minutes; 1.4 steals per 36 minutes; Defensive Rating: 99
Collins:  0.4 blocks per 36 minutes; 0.5 steals per 36 minutes; Defensive Rating: 104

Birdman:  0.74 points allowed per possession (40th overall); 0.79 points allowed per possession allowed on post-ups (103rd overall)
Collins:  0.78 points allowed per possession (75th overall); 0.84 points allowed per possession allowed on post-ups (143rd overall)

Statistically, Birdman's defense was better than Collins.

Intangibles:

Andersen is known to be a great teammate.  He's a high-energy player and a crowd favorite.  On the negative side, he's been injured for parts of the last two seasons, and he was the subject of a criminal investigation involving photographs of an underage girl (while his lawyer says he was the victim of an extortion attempt by that girl -- who claimed she was 21 -- and her mother.)  Andersen also has a history of hardcore drug use, but seems to have kicked the habit.

Collins is also known as a great teammate, and he willingly fills his role.  He's more likely to rack up DNP-CDs than he is to miss games due to injuries.

Overall:

It's hard to argue that Collins is in the same class as Andersen as a player.  Collins is healthier and has fewer question marks, but he's also an inferior player.

[Who]

He's injury prone, and will probably miss 40 games next year

A lot of those DNPs where coaching decisions. Not injuries.

George Karl sat Chris Andersen out in order to play and develop Denver's younger centers. Not because they out-played C.Andersen but because they wanted to develop their young bigs. George Karl said this.

I don't think Andersen had that many injury problems last season. I didn't hear about them anyway. I know he had issues the year before although I forget what they were.

[AB_Celtic]

I would have preferred him over Jason Collins.  He's a better player by a wide margin.

How's his defense? Because that's really all we signed Collins for... so we won't collapse with KG off the court.

Here's a post I wrote previously comparing Andersen and Collins:

...

Geez... that's a steal for the vet. min. I hope having Collins already doesn't discourage Danny.

[CelticSooner]

I think that if the legal cloud was not hanging over him, we would've/should've considered using the BAE on him. He's probably as good if not better than most bigs that will be available later in the season.

For the minimum, I think it's a no (Bird) brainer.

No legal cloud he's signed by someone for much more than that.

It doesn't sound like he was in the wrong. I would be all for myself.

[RockinRyA]

I do like birdman's game, but probably Danny isn't sure he would be the perfect guy to put in a team full of young guys. Question to Roy though, he has good D numbers, but how is his D against big post players like Kaman, Bynum, Bogut and DH? I havent really seen him matched up against them so have no way of knowing.