NBA
#21 Dallas Mavericks: Justin Anderson
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the 21st pick in the 2015 NBA draft, the Mavericks selected Justin Anderson from Virginia. The 6’6 small forward, who weighs in at 231 pounds, is strong and will help the Mavericks on the defensive end. He has a great wingspan (nearly seven feet), had a max vertical of 43 inches and is a fluid, explosive athlete.
Last season at Virginia, Anderson averaged 12.2 points per game, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out almost two assists per game in his 27.8 minutes per game.
The 21-year-old former Virginia Cavalier should be able to help the Mavs immediately. Anderson really helps the Mavericks who were not at all a good defensive team last season. He’ll be that premier defender to take on the elite wing-players in the league. If they re-sign Tyson Chandler, they’ll have the foundation of a pretty good defensive unit.
The Mavericks needed a guard as their experiment with the enigmatic point guard Rajon Rondo went awry. They also might lose Monta Ellis to free agency. This pick of Anderson will surely help keep the Mavs from getting destroyed on the defensive end, but won’t help their playmaking all that much.
They have Dirk Nowitzki on a cheap contract as the vet cornerstone, along with Chandler Parsons on a not so cheap contract. We’ll see if Anderson sticks with the Mavs since they don’t tend to keep or play the players they draft, instead choosing to trade the picks in larger trades. Anderson would be a great player to keep though. He would certainly lower the average age of that roster as a 21-year-old on a largely veteran team.
They were looking mostly at smaller guards to get younger, as well as get insurance if any of the other guards leave. Grabbing Anderson was probably the smarter play.
