Nets sign Justin Anderson as Substitute Player for NBA restart

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard/forward Justin Anderson as a Substitute Player for the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season.

The Nets are incredibly short-handed going into the NBA restart, which tips off July 30 at the single-location NBA campus at Disney Wide World of Sports in Florida, with 22 participating teams.

Anderson (6’5”, 231) was previously signed to a 10-day contract with Brooklyn on Jan. 6 and appeared in three games. He also saw action in 16 games (14 starts) this season with Brooklyn’s NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, averaging a team-high 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 33.6 minutes per game en route to All-NBA G League Third Team honors.

The Montross, Va., native has appeared in 219 games across five NBA seasons with Dallas (2015-17), Philadelphia (2017-18), Atlanta (2018-19) and Brooklyn (2020), recording averages of 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per contest. He has also seen action in 38 career NBA G League games, registering averages of 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.5 minutes per game.

With a 30-34 record, the Nets sit 7th in the Eastern conference, above the 8th place Magic and 9th place Wizards. Although Orlando is a healthy squad, the Wizards are without backcourt stars John Wall and Bradley Beal. The Nets face a tough road during the “seeding games” they’ll be playing, but the Wizards, who are 5.5 games out of the 8th spot, face an incredibly difficult task.

Anderson was originally selected by the Mavericks with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft following a three-year (2012-15) collegiate career at the University of Virginia. While playing for the Cavaliers, Anderson earned National Basketball Coaches Association All-America Third Team honors and was named to the All-ACC Second Team as a junior. He was also named the ACC Sixth Man of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association as a sophomore.

Sixers trade Nerlens Noel to Mavericks for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, pick

sixers trade nerlens noel

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired forward-center Nerlens Noel from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Justin Anderson, center Andrew Bogut and a 2017 protected first-round pick.

Noel (6-11, 220) holds career averages of 10.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.6 blocks and 28.3 minutes per game in 171 games (140 starts) with Philadelphia.

The third-year man out of Kentucky is averaging 8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.9 blocks and 19.4 minutes per game in 29 games (seven starts) this season. He is shooting 61.1 percent (107-of-175) from the field this year.

A native of Malden, Mass., Noel was originally selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. His rights were later traded to Philadelphia along with a future first-round pick in exchange for Jrue Holiday and Pierre Jackson.

In his lone season at Kentucky (2012-13), Noel averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.1 steals, 4.4 blocks and 31.9 minutes per game en route to earning First Team All-SEC, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Rookie of the Year honors. On Jan. 29, 2013, Noel set the UK single-game record with 12 blocked shots in a victory over No. 16 Ole Miss.

Noel suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Florida Gators on Feb. 12, 2013, ending his 2012-13 season. Despite the injury, Noel declared for the 2013 NBA Draft following his freshman year. He missed the entire 2013-14 NBA season recovering from knee surgery.

As a rookie in 2014-15, Noel averaged 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.9 blocks and 30.8 minutes per game in 75 games (71 starts) while garnering NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

The 22-year-old Noel was the top-rated player by both ESPNU recruiting and Scout.com coming out of high school and was rated the second-best prospect by Rivals.com. He will wear No. 3 with the Mavericks.

Anderson (6-6, 228) was drafted by Dallas with the 21st overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. In 106 games (11 starts) with the Mavericks, he averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.

Bogut (7-0, 260) was acquired by Dallas along with a future second-round pick from the Golden State Warriors on July 7, 2016 in exchange for a future conditional second-round pick. He averaged 3.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 block and 22.4 minutes per game in 26 games (21 starts) with the Mavericks this season.