Declaring for the NBA Draft in 2014 after just one season at UCLA, Kyle Anderson was regarded as a steal as the last pick in the first round. As a point guard at 6'9", you can imagine the mismatches he caused while he was playing for the Bruins. His length helps him a lot when guarding quicker and smaller point guards. Anderson isn't going to blow you away with his speed at all, but he plays very smooth and to his pace, which makes him effective. Being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs was probably the best-case scenario for him, as he would be coached by arguably the best coach in NBA history Gregg Popovich, not to mention surrounded by future hall-of-famers in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
The idea was for Anderson to get some time at the point guard position, but with Tony Parker and Patty Mills ahead of him, the minutes were pretty limited to say the least. Popovich played him as a wing some of the time which was an adjustment for Anderson since he has always been controlling the ball for the majority of his basketball life.
When the season was all said and done, he only averaged 10.8 minutes per game. In that time, he posted 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds, which aren't exactly statistics that would hold optimism for an increased roll next season. One way to prove himself this off-season would be during summer league. Now that he has gotten a feel for the pace of the NBA and the style of the Spurs' system, he had to show the coaching staff he would be able to develop into the player they had hoped for when they drafted him.
Anderson has played very well over the course of the Spurs' summer league schedule. They participated in both the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues and finished with a 4-3 record combined. Throughout, Anderson has averaged 18.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He had multiple games where he was just one or two rebounds short of a double-double, and four 20-plus point performances.
One negative about what Anderson has done this summer could be that he still isn't piling up assists like some have expected. Tony Parker only has a couple more years at best left, so Anderson has to prove that he is the guy Parker can pass the baton to when he decides to call it quits.
Now, of course you can't expect those type of numbers to carry over into the NBA regular season when he is with the official team, but it helps with confidence for Anderson. The Spurs are once again going to be a force in the Western Conference after signing the highly-coveted free agent in LaMarcus Aldridge and veteran big man David West. Next season won't be easy for Anderson to earn playing time once again, as the Spurs also traded for Ray McCallum to add to their point guard depth.
It looks as though Anderson's best bet is to adjust playing the wing and come off the bench to provide scoring, energy, and rebounding. Popovich will use him in all the right ways as he seems to do with every player he coaches, so there is no need to worry too much. This summer is exactly what Anderson needed heading into next season and what should be a very competitive training camp. The expectation is for him to get more minutes this season and definitely increase his statistics. If he does that and the Spurs manage to win the title, it would be an extremely productive second year for Kyle Anderson.