What did the Grizzlies lose with the departures of Kyle Anderson and De'Anthony Melton?
Memphis retained a vet in Tyus Jones this summer, but also lost a duo who soaked up significant minutes. What production did the Grizzlies lose from their roster?
What did the Grizzlies lose with the departure of their high usage players Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton? The short answer is significant versatility on the defensive end, but not as much on the offensive side of the ball.
How much of the lack of Melton and Anderson’s offensive success is solely their responsibility? How much is the lineups that were put around them?
This past season, Melton and Anderson combined for over 3,500 minutes - De’Anthony being 5th on the team in minutes and Kyle 7th. Per Cleaning the Glass, Anderson was 5th in usage rate and 9th in ppg for the Grizzlies while Melton was 6th in usage and 5th in ppg. Their offensive usage ranked above other key rotation players like Steven Adams (12th), Tyus Jones (9th), and Brandon Clarke (10th).
Anderson’s production on offense should be replaceable by any number of players, while Melton has bigger shoes to fill. On the first pass, their individual usage seems high, which is an unfortunate byproduct of the lack of efficient production on the roster from players not named Ja Morant or Desmond Bane.
In the upcoming season(s), the Grizzlies will be demanding an increase offensive contribution from Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, Santi Aldama and the rookies. That is a significant ask, but hopefully Tyus Jones will be able to spend more time on the second unit with Ja Morant maybe (hopefully) being healthy. If Tyus logs those minutes, he can continue some of the offensive creation that Melton provided of through his team-centric style of play
Though they don’t have the exact same game, Melton and Anderson do have some similar strengths and weaknesses. According to 538’s RAPTOR metric, Melton was the third most impactful defender last season for the Grizzlies behind Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks, who played significantly fewer minutes than either of them due to injury.
Anderson ranked outside of the top 5, but was a mainstay on this Grizzlies defense with nearly 2 STOCKS per game. Kyle ranked in the 82-89th percentile in block and steal metrics in the league last season.
Much of Anderson’s value comes from his versatility and ability to effectively cover multiple positions as a utility defender. His long arms made him a successful interior defender and also gave him the ability to cause damage on the perimeter.
He doesn’t often get matched up with the quickest of players or primary ball handlers, but anyone on the wings or in the post is fair game.
On the offensive end, 2021-22 was a rough season for both of these guys, but Anderson especially. Kyle contributed 7.6 points per game and 2.7 assists, but was a net negative on offense. His shooting was abysmal with a True Shooting percentage of 50.6% (29th percentile). Admittedly, the offensive woes of the the Grizzlies bench were not solely Anderson’s responsibility. For reference, the Grizzlies bench was 14th in the league during the regular seasons in points per 100 possessions.
The spacing on the units Kyle spent most of his time on did not include Desmond Bane, the Grizzlies most reliable three point shooter, thus shrinking the court and reducing opportunities to score.
Anderson was not able to help with spacing himself, shooting below average from three point land with the lone exception being in the corners where he shot over 40%. Anderson was in the 94th percentile for three point openness last season, so it appears his previous year’s hot shooting may have been a fluke.
Anderson’s offensive strength lies in his ability to use the pick and roll and create kick-outs for his teammates or take the middy off-balance floater. He shared the court with players who collectively were in the 4th percentile for finishing, which significantly decreased his potential offensive impact.
As we will talk in a second, some of the Melton and Anderson play is redundant, so it made sense to let Kyle walk and to bring in fresh players with a higher ability to stretch the floor and provide variety to the offense. If Dillon Brooks can get back to his normal minute total this upcoming year, then the defensive blow of losing these two will be reduced.
Like Anderson, Melton has provided defensive flexibility to Taylor Jenkins and company for multiple years. The decision to trade him was a tough one, as he was one of the more versatile defenders on the Grizzlies roster and I believe he still has an offensive ceiling that he has not met at the very young age of 23.
On defense, Melton spent the majority of his time off-ball against secondary ball handlers and slashers for the other team. Coming off the bench for the majority of the season, he did spend nearly 12% of his possessions against low impact players, which put him in the 96th percentile in that respect. These minutes off-ball did allow him to wreak havoc and impact the game by taking risks and accumulating nearly 2 STOCKS per game in addition to myriad deflections - which came to be his calling card.
Melton ate up some heavy minutes for the Grizzlies and was much less of a negative on offense compared to Anderson. Melton was one of Memphis’ best three point shooters at 37.4%, putting him in the top quarter of the league. To give up that production for a team struggling to convert from three is a tough choice, and one that doesn’t sit too well with me at this point.
David Roddy has some big shoes to fill in order to make that trade look good for the front office.
De’Anthony struggled to get good shots and convert at the rim, but was stable from three on the season. Melton was also a shot creator, though he, like Anderson, was unfortunate enough to play heavy minutes with players who lack finishing prowess, producing diminished returns for his efforts.
With the group of rookies that the Grizzlies added, they will undoubtedly experience some defensive setbacks this season. It’s unrealistic for the newcomers to pick up on the speed of the game quick enough to be efficient enough on that end of the floor to where the team doesn’t hurt from the loss of the two veterans. It appears that the front office is confident in Taylor Jenkins and his staff and their ability to construct a team defense that plays to their guys’ strengths and challenges everyone to play with intensity on a nightly basis.
You have to hope that the uptick in potential three point shooting for a team who was next to last in attempts can outweigh the defensive loss that they will experience.