The first line of the first regular-season piece I wrote for Zone Coverage went as follows: “Sporting a fancy new pair of Rec Specs, Kyle Anderson was one of the few positive takeaways from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 97-94 season-opening loss to the Toronto Raptors.”
What a weird couple of years it’s been since I wrote that line. Anderson has been traded three times. The Wolves initially sent him to the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade. Later, the Warriors sent him to the Miami Heat in a Jimmy Butler deal last season. Last offseason, Miami traded him to the Utah Jazz, who sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis bought out Anderson, allowing him to return to the Timberwolves.
Anderson, 32, has become a well-traveled player. After playing 148 games for the Wolves in two seasons, he played 36 for the Warriors, 25 for the Heat, 2 for Utah, and 4 for Memphis. However, two years later, the headline is similar for the Wolves after an ugly 94-88 win against the Clippers.
Anderson’s return is one of the few positives.
Despite bouncing around the league, Anderson has put together a pair of solid enough seasons to at least suggest the reunion will be worthwhile. When he played for Golden State and Miami in the 2024-25 season, Anderson’s minutes decreased to just 16.4, his lowest amount since 2016-17 in San Antonio.
Kyle Anderson shot 46.9% from the floor and 35.7% from three, both of which were in line with his career averages. His 2.4 assists were a far cry from the 4.9 he averaged in Minnesota during the 2022-23 season, but his 3.92 assist-to-turnover ratio remained excellent.
Like his assist numbers, Anderson’s rebounding dipped during that season, averaging just 3.4 per game. However, this was likely due to the significant drop in minutes, because his rebound percentage (8.0%) stayed within a couple of percentage points of his career average of 9.5%.
Most importantly, his defensive rating remained rock solid, at 108.2 for Golden State and 106.8 for Miami. He rated better than the Warriors’ and the Heat’s overall defensive ratings while playing for them, which is generally a good sign for a player being a positive factor for a team’s defense.
Anderson’s 2024-25 season with the Warriors appeared to be more of a fit issue for Anderson than anything else. Golden State’s crowded front court paired an aging Draymond Green and Kevon Looney, a non-shooting threat. As a result, Anderson almost exclusively shared the floor with at least one non-shooter and below-average shooters off the bench like Gary Payton II. The result was a crowded offense that struggled to score with Anderson on the court, causing his offensive rating to fall.
Miami had significantly more shooting, which opened up the court for Anderson. However, he had to find his place in the team’s pecking order. Still, his fit was significantly better. Anderson posted a +5.0 net rating on a less-talented Heat team, vastly better than the -6.8 he posted in Golden State, highlighting that fit will always be important for Anderson.
Kyle Anderson landed in Utah this season, a team that ranks last in the NBA in defensive rating and is heading toward a top-5 NBA pick. He only suited up for 20 games with the Jazz, playing 20.1 minutes, and the lack of talent spoiled a productive season for Anderson. He averaged a 3.59 assist-to-turnover ratio in Utah, shot 52.3% from the field and 60.0% from three, albeit on just 0.3 attempts per game.
However, Anderson posted the worst plus-minus of his career in Utah at -3.9 per game. He also produced the worst defensive rating of his career (116.9), which is still better than the Jazz’s team defensive rating. The lack of team success could have been due to Anderson’s age, but it is more likely the result of Anderson being a valuable role player on a team that appears to have little to no interest in winning.
After the Jazz traded Anderson to Memphis, he went from producing a -8.2 net rating to just -0.9 net rating on his new team. However, he played only four games for the Grizzlies, so it’s hard to draw any notable conclusions from such a small sample size. Still, it suggests that Anderson remains a positive player when he has an opportunity to win with a good-fitting roster.
That’s what makes the Wolves reunion so sweet. The Wolves need a forward off the bench that can create, score, and most importantly, not make mistakes. Terrence Shannon Jr. has largely been inefficient in a season marred by injury. Meanwhile, Bones Hyland offers excitement and a high ceiling. However, his lows this season are just too low to force Chris Finch to play him in rotational playoff minutes.
In steps Anderson, with a reliable assist-to-turnover ratio and an innate ability to create for his teammates. He’s having one of the better field goal percentage seasons of his career. Gobert is the only non-shooter the Wolves have in their top 7-man rotation, a player Anderson knows well and likely will not have to play much with.
Julius Randle is the other question mark, who operates in a similar space to Anderson. However, he likely won’t log as many minutes with Anderson because Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels can play in the post alongside him.
Ultimately, the fit makes a lot of sense. On the court, Kyle Anderson is still excelling at team defense and smart play, and Minnesota’s 12- to 15-minute eighth-man role is still up for grabs because other Wolves players have not fully capitalized on the opportunity.
Minnesota is just one game back of the Denver Nuggets for the 3-seed with just 22 games left in the regular season. Anderson’s return makes all the sense in the world. It’s a full-circle moment where he’ll return to the Wolves without the Rec Specs.
