The Philadelphia 76ers signed Justin Anderson to a partially guaranteed contract on Friday.
On Friday, Daryl Morey continued his myth-building campaign by signing fan-favorite Justin Anderson to a partially guaranteed contract. He will compete for the Philadelphia 76ers’ 15th roster spot in camp, with Derrick Walton Jr. and Ryan Broekhoff his main competition.
Anderson spent last season with Brooklyn, where he averaged 10.7 minutes across 10 games played. He has been on the outskirts of NBA competition for a while, but it wasn’t too long ago — 2018, in fact — that Anderson was a part of the Sixers’ rotation.
Both a fan favorite and a locker room favorite, Anderson’s personality is part of why he’s still in the league. He has a remarkable competitive streak — one geared toward winning. He pours his heart out every possession, whether it’s dogging his assignment on defense or making himself available offensively.
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Anderson is a severely limited player, especially on offense. He’s a mediocre shooter and erratic decision-maker. He doesn’t provide much value on that end, outside of the occasional explosion of athleticism at the rim. His on-court value is rooted in defense, where his strength and hustle make him a constant irritant at the point of attack.
That said, what the Sixers need most — aside from another high-level perimeter creator — is size and physicality on the wing. Broekhoff and Walton can shoot the lights out, but frankly, Philadelphia might have enough shooting already. Anderson’s mentality and Hellenistic sculpture of a frame could be enough to earn him a spot on Morey’s roster.
The Sixers could benefit from Anderson as a spark-plug. Not a scoring spark plug, but a defensive spark plug who can ratchet the intensity up to 100 when things get stale. Philadelphia found itself sleepwalking through long portions of last season. Anderson can help jolt them awake from time to time.
In the end, Anderson probably won’t see much playing time if he does make the roster. That said, the names immediately ahead of him on the depth chart aren’t terribly impressive. Furkan Korkmaz, Terrance Ferguson, and Mike Scott isn’t exactly the murders’ row of bench pieces. At 27 years old, Anderson still has time to round into form and find his niche in the NBA.
Perhaps more important than anything Anderson does on the court, however, is his presence in the locker room. Namely, his friendship with Joel Embiid. A joyful Embiid is the best version of Embiid, and some of Embiid’s most joyous years came early on — when Anderson was on the roster.
Obviously, Anderson was not solely responsible for Embiid’s happiness in the early stages of his career, but Anderson has clearly maintained a relationship with his former Sixer teammate. That alone could outstrip any value Broekhoff or Walton provide as one-dimensional shooters buried deep in the rotation.
The Sixers may have already tipped their hand, giving Anderson a non-guaranteed second year in his contract. Broekhoff and Walton were simply signed to non-guaranteed deals for training camp. Anderson might not stick around forever, but he’s worth having around to start the season.