The Mavericks selected University of Virginia guard Justin Anderson with the 21st pick of the NBA draft Thursday night at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle had some things to say about the 2015 Second-team All-ACC player.
"Justin is a unique kid," Carlisle said. "He's a three-year guy, he's gotten better each year. He is very physically strong. We feel he's a wing player that can play either the two or the three. We believe that he's got an NBA body, and he's one of the strongest kids in the draft positionally."
Carlisle indicated the Mavericks needed to improve in their defense and also their physicality, and the drafting of Anderson is a step in that direction.
"We have a lot of improving to do shooting it and guarding it. So, this move is a strong move in the direction of addressing both of those needs."
Anderson nailed 47 out of 104 three-pointers in his final season with the Cavaliers, earning a 45.2 percent average.
"His strength as a player translates well into the longer three-point line. He's one of these rare guys that has the strength to elevate and still get the ball to the basket and in the basket.
"So, what we're seeing more and more of these days, if you watch guys like [Steph] Curry and [Klay] Thompson, [J.J.] Reddick and these guys, they're running off screens for 26, 27-foot shots. And that has not been a big part of Justin's game, but he has had the physical tools to get there."
The drafting of Anderson is also a stop-gap measure for the decision the Mavericks will make with guard Al-Farouq Aminu, who is entering the final year of his two-year deal with Dallas.
Anderson, who is just the 35th Virginia player taken in NBA draft history, is a 6-6 shooting guard that Carlisle compared more to Celtics guard Jae Crowder, who left Dallas in the 2014 off-season.
"There's some similarities to Crowder," Carlisle said. "From a size position, he is a guy that plays some stretch-4. When you go smaller he's got a rugged enough body to bang with some big guys. The league is going the direction of guys with flexibility that can guard multiple positions.
"Switching is becoming a bigger part of the game defensively, and so he's a guy that's got the foot speed to guard small guys and he's got the strength to hang with the bigger guys around the basket."
