Kyle Anderson and the Miami Heat are both pleased with how things ultimately played out after a whirlwind trade saga in February involving Jimmy Butler.
Initially, Anderson was supposed to land in Toronto as part of a complicated five-team transaction.
However, that scenario fell apart, and Golden State rerouted him to Miami – a move that has turned out to be a fortunate twist for all involved, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra couldn’t be more enthusiastic about having Anderson on board. Speaking ahead of the team’s matchup in Chicago, Spoelstra praised Anderson’s unique contributions to the squad.
“I just can’t say enough about Kyle,” Spoelstra said. “Kyle is a winning basketball player. He really is.”
The coach highlighted that Anderson doesn’t fit the mold of a typical NBA player, but that’s precisely what makes him valuable.
“He’s an unorthodox player, so you have to view him differently. His skill set is not a traditional skill set. But if you can embrace what he does, he can unlock a lot of different strengths out of our team,” he explained.
“I just love what he brings. He’s a competitor. I think above anything else, he competes and winning really matters to him. He competes on both ends. He’s a two-way basketball player and he does a lot of different things that impact the game.”
Anderson’s transition to Miami has breathed new life into his season. With the Warriors, his role had diminished – he wasn’t getting consistent minutes.
But in Miami, he’s stepped into a key bench role, especially with Nikola Jovic sidelined since late February due to a fractured right hand.
According to Chiang, Anderson has logged 20 or more minutes in seven of the Heat’s past eight games, and Miami has thrived with him on the floor – outscoring opponents by a whopping 23.8 points per 100 possessions during that span.
Spoelstra emphasized that Anderson brings a much-needed dynamic to the Heat’s rotation – one that’s difficult to quantify with traditional metrics.
“Kyle is giving us something different,” he said. “He’s a point guard. So he can set the table, he can control tempo, he can control and manipulate the defense. He can do it from the point guard position, he can do it from the low post.”
Spoelstra also lauded Anderson’s basketball IQ and ability to elevate those around him.
“He just has a knack for those kind of plays and nuances. And we want to lean into that. Because it seems like a good fit right now with that second unit for him to be able to just kind of manipulate and orchestrate with his experience and IQ.”
Heat Notes: Anderson, Jovic, Herro, Larsson https://t.co/FH14KzIdzP pic.twitter.com/JaGd3kH2lW
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) April 10, 2025
