Well, it’s official. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association today granted the request of Chris Andersen to be reinstated as an NBA player. According to Nola.com, Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower said: “We will now begin the process of getting him back on the court and back in a Hornets uniform as quickly as possible.” Which means provided that Anderson passes a physical, he’s going to be a Hornet again. But by all accounts, Anderson has kept in good shape, so the odds look good.
This is exactly what the Hornets were hoping for when the rest of the conference starting running at big men. Despite not playing in two years, he knows Coach Scott’s system, fits in it well, and the Coach loves him. He’s like someone with Bowen’s hustle, West’s moxie, and Armstrong’s physical build. He’s eight to ten years younger than guys like P.J. Brown or Shaq, while more agile and talented that others bigs we’ve seen moving around the league lately like Diop, Collins (Jason), Magloire, Mbenga, Ratliff, Thomas (Kurt), Brezec, or Johnson (Linton).
The HYPE is huge for this one!!!
I think I’d rather have Diop or Kurt Thomas, but I am glad to have Andersen back. He’s got something to prove so hopefully he’ll give the team a huge boost. Even if he doesn’t play that much, he might at least inspire Hilton Armstrong to pick his game up.
Coming from New York, I’ve seen a lot of Kurt Thomas. Let me tell you. He is nothing special. He is that guy who shows you enough that you think he’s good, but then he lets you down when you need him. He’ll always play decent, but rarely stand out. As for Diop, he doesn’t have much skills, he’s just huge. Thus him being a perennial bench man. I think the Mavs wanted him in the line-up to be a foul sink vs. Duncan, Bynum, and Shaq more than anything else. But as you say, Anderson has something to prove, and I think we’ll see it.
This is exciting.
P.S. My friend Amber dated Birdman in California.
Awesome.