Orlando Magic Daily
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5 options for the Orlando Magic to bolster their forward depth

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Ryan Anderson was a sharpshooter for the Orlando Magic who could get brought back as the shooter the team needs. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Ryan Anderson was a sharpshooter for the Orlando Magic who could get brought back as the shooter the team needs. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Justin Anderson, Raptors 905
Justin Anderson has the defensive reputation of a Virginia Cavalier but has struggled to find his shot in the NBA. (Photo by Christian Bonin/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The G-League Route: Justin Anderson

The Lakeland Magic are not the only team in the G-League the Orlando Magic can mine. The G-League is not a true minor league. Teams only have rights to players they have signed to a two-way contract. Every other player in the G-League is a free agent and able to join any team in the league that wants to sign them.

The G-League as a whole is not known for its defense. There are definitely some weird scoring performances and coaches are both focused on developing players and showcasing players to help them catch NBA scout’s eyes.

The G-League’s proximity to the NBA and scouts is one of the big reasons why players choose to grind it out in that league. The big NBA contracts are relatively close by.

There are a few players who will catch teams’ eyes as they look for perhaps some young talent to bolster their roster.

Justin Anderson struggled in four seasons in the NBA to find his place. He has a career average of 5.3 points per game in 13.2 minutes per game, shooting a 49.0 percent effective field goal percentage. He never shot better than 33.0 percent from three in his time on the floor.

The former Virginia Cavaliers forward is known for his defense more than anything else. He plugs right in as a great individual defender. But his shooting was what would hold him back. In college, he averaged 12.2 points per game and hit 45.2-percent on 3-pointers in his junior year in 2015. That was the outlier of his collegiate career.

The question then for Anderson is: Has he improved as a shooter?

The returns from the G-League are promising.

Anderson is averaging 21.2 points per game and making 34.6-percent of his 3-pointers on 8.2 attempts per game for Raptors 905. That is a lot of 3-pointers for sure. And the percentage is not terrible for a high-volume shooter.

Would some of this production translate to the NBA? Would taking more spot-up shots and creating and scoring less lead to an increase in efficiency?

Certainly, the Magic would value him as a defender. That is the potential Anderson would still have to contribute in the league.