Posts Tagged ‘Ryan Anderson’

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Sixth Man Of The Year: J.R. Smith

April 16, 2013  ·  9:55AM

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The oddest part about this season’s race for the Sixth Man of the Year Award is that there are probably a half-dozen candidates worthy of consideration.

A voter could close his eyes and take a stab anywhere on a quite worthy list of J.R. Smith, Jamal Crawford, Jarrett Jack, Ryan Anderson, Nate Robinson and Kevin Martin.

So does that mean if we put an entire team of second unit standouts onto the court, somebody would have to get bumped to a starter?

In that case, we’re elevating and giving our vote to Smith, who has ridden in the shadow of Carmelo Anthony’s season-long brilliance, but has been no less vital to the Knicks winning their first Atlantic Division title since 1994.

How does that sync with the image of the mercurial guard who had taken his ready-to-shoot game from New Orleans to Denver to China before landing in New York 15 months ago?

How strangely does it stumble off the tongue to say that from the start to the finish of this regular season, Smith has become the Knicks most dependable player night in and night out?

For while you obviously give great credit to Anthony for the performance that will likely win the scoring title and earn him a high place on some MVP ballots, Smith has been the Knicks’ second-leading scorer, averaging 18.1 ppg and the player that coach Mike Woodson has been able to rely on at both ends of the court.

There is no questioning Crawford’s credentials as a big-time scorer off the Clippers’ bench and an ability to take over a game offensively whenever he steps out on the floor. For much of the season, the Sixth Man Award hardware seemed to be his for the taking. He helped the Clippers beat the Knicks to 50 wins as L.A. earned its first division title in the history of the franchise that dates back to its infancy in Buffalo.

The difference is that Crawford is a one-trick pony galloping behind Chris Paul who makes virtually no contribution at all on the nights when the ball is not going into the basket. While the Crawford lobby will point to a higher field goal percentage, it’s only slightly better, 43.6 to 42.2. The same goes for 3-point shooting, where Crawford has 37.0 to 35.6 edge.

At the other end of the floor, Smith has hardly become a stopper, but he tries and is credible, which is all that Woodson has asked. Crawford, meanwhile, couldn’t guard a cadaver.

At 27, Smith has finally inched closer to becoming the complete player that George Karl tried to squeeze out of him during four seasons in Denver and when the Knicks are winning, his assists and steals, as well as his shooting, are up. What’s more, he is literally the only player to show up every night, having played in every game this season, helping hold up the tent when Anthony was injured.

Oh, it’s not like J.R. has traded in his initials, his off-court silliness or his penchant for me-first offense. You still have to live with the times when he tries to win by himself and the can-you-believe-that shots. But they are part of a bigger package now, one that gives the Knicks a real reason to believe in the East.

The top contenders:

Jamal Crawford — He’s bounced back from a horrendous one-year stint in Portland to play a key role in the best Clippers season ever. Not many teams can back up a Chris Paul with another scorer this dangerous. But when it comes down to splitting hairs in a very close race, defense has to matter. You can make the argument that Crawford is the worst defender on the floor any time that he plays.

Jarrett Jack — The veteran has three games of 25 points and 10 assists off the bench, making him the first reserve in NBA history to do that in a single season. He’s provided leadership, defense and helped get the Warriors into the playoffs for only the second time in 19 seasons.

Kevin Martin — It was not an enviable task to step into the role of last year’s runaway Sixth Man winner (James Harden) on a team whose only goal is a return to The Finals. He doesn’t have all the skills of Harden and contributes nothing on defense, but is a high-efficiency scorer with a knack for getting to the foul line.

Ryan Anderson — He’s having the highest-scoring season — by a tick — of his career and has had to carry the offensive load plenty in the frequent absence of Eric Gordon. But it has to count against you when your team has spent the entire season floundering near the bottom of the West.

Nate Robinson — What is he? Who is he? When will he ever figure it out? He’s come off the Bulls’ bench to have his best year since his days in New York and certainly played a big part in ending the Miami win streak.

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Spurs’ Green Remembers Playoff Slump

April 9, 2013  ·  5:42PM

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HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – Told of his 3-point shooting percentage — 44.0 — Danny Green quickly silenced the messenger.

“I really don’t want to know the numbers to be honest with you,” the San Antonio Spurs shooting guard said. “When you hear the numbers, as a shooter, you kind of think it jinxes you.”

Only three players — Jose Calderon, Kyle Korver and Stephen Curry – are shooting the 3-ball at a higher percentage than Green, and just four — Curry (247), Ryan Anderson (202), Klay Thompson (197) and Korver (183) — have made more 3s than Green’s 173.

“That’s great,” Green, 25, said. “The biggest thing for me is to be a presence on the floor for my team and be able to help them, not just by knocking down 3s, but defensively. It’s good that they can count on me, to find me in a corner or from the top to knock down a shot when we need it.

“Hopefully it can continue when we need it most in the playoffs.”

Ah yes, the playoffs. Green’s memories of the 2012 postseason, of the West finals when he suddenly couldn’t throw it in the River Walk, linger. The Spurs lost four in a row to the Oklahoma City Thunder after taking a 2-0 lead.

A 43.6-percent 3-point shooter last season, Green went 4-for-21 as a starter in the first four games against OKC. Coach Gregg Popovich benched him in Games 5 and 6.

It was Green’s first foray into the pressure-cooker of the playoffs as an integral role player.

“I learned a lot,” Green said. “Every game is a learning experience. I learned in order to be effective, help my team more, is to do more things than shoot the 3-ball because a lot of times it won’t be there. My biggest keys is being more consistent behind the [3-point] line and doing other things consistently for my team.

“Defensively, holding my man, helping each other out. Offensively, cut to the basket, little things, making plays, making the extra pass for my team. Whatever we need to do or whatever the team needs I’m going to try to help them get it done.”

Now he’s prepared to enter this postseason as San Antonio’s full-time shooting guard. He’s started every one of the 75 games he’s played, quite a feat for the 46th overall pick in 2009 by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Green’s been waived by the Cavs, signed by the Spurs, waived by the Spurs and signed by the Spurs again in March 2011.

His breakout season a year ago earned the former four-year North Carolina Tar Heel stability for the first time in the league, a three-year contract worth more than $11 million. He’s answered that challenge with career highs in scoring (10.6 ppg), assists (1.7) and, of course, that lofty 3-ball percentage he doesn’t want to talk about.

“There have definitely been doubts, especially being cut, let go, different teams, but I kind of believed in myself,” Green said. “I had a good support system, my family, my agent and everybody else behind me believing that I can do it, and I stuck with it and it finally happened for me.”

Green has found a home in a Spurs system that keeps churning out victories and doing so through stretches of key injuries. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are the latest for a team that believes, if healthy, it can return to the NBA Finals for the first time since winning a fourth title in 2007.

“We have a good team and we have a deep bench,” Green said. “I think injuries have made our bench deeper and guys have gotten an opportunity to play. Pop gives everybody a chance to see what they can do and he makes it pretty easy for them to be successful. He tells you what your role is and as long as you play defense it doesn’t matter what you do offensively.

“You know we play a very European style of offense where everybody moves the ball, everybody touches the ball and everybody gets shots, so it makes it easy.”

The key now for Green is to keep it that easy when the Spurs march back into the playoffs.

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Meet The Three-Point Participants

February 13, 2013  ·  9:40AM

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The Foot Locker Three-Point Contest will be held Saturday night with five stations arranged around the arc and five balls at each spot, the first four worth one point and one red, white and blue “money ball” worth two points. Players will have one minute to try and complete all five locations.

Kevin Love of the Timberwolves, out with a hand injury, will not be defending the title won a year ago in Orlando.

The Eastern Conference lineup:

Paul George, Pacers: Though not known for his 3-point shooting, George is on pace to improve his percentage behind the arc for the third season in a row. That has been part of a climb from 7.8 points a game as a rookie to 12.1 in 2011-12 to 17.5 the first 61 games this season.

Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers: The escalation from No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year in 2011-12 to All-Star in 2012-13 includes an improvement from pretty good on 3-pointers to challenging for a top-10 finish. Imagine where his scoring average goes if Irving starts to make threes more of a priority.

Steve Novak, Knicks: A man made for this competition. Novak is a career 3-point specialist, often posting a better percentage from behind the arc than on two-pointers. He was fifth in the league in 3-point accuracy heading into Wednesday’s games.

The Western Conference lineup:

Ryan Anderson, Hornets: The winner of Most Improved Player last season while in Orlando is the ideal complement for Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon after moving to New Orleans in a sign-and-trade. Now Anderson is on pace to finish better than 40 percent on 3-pointers for the first time in his career.

Matt Bonner, Spurs: He is averaging all of 12.1 minutes (11th on the team) and 4.1 points. And he absolutely deserves to be at All-Star weekend. Bonner is second in the league in 3-point percentage and on pace to shoot better than 45 percent behind the arc for the second time in three seasons.

Stephen Curry, Warriors: Barring a late injury on the Western Conference All-Star squad for the Sunday main event, appearing in the 3-point contest will have to do as a consolation prize. It may do very well, though. Curry is third in the league in accuracy behind the arc, making him one of the favorites to win the title.

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Green And White Fly Slam Dunk Colors

February 7, 2013  ·  7:54PM






HANG TIME, Texas — The last time James White and Gerald Green were in a slam dunk contest together, they practically blew the roof off with a 2010 Russian Cup performance that’s become a YouTube cult classic.

So perhaps it is fitting that they will be comrades along with Terrence Ross, representing the Eastern Conference in the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, as State Farm All-Star Saturday Night includes an overall team format for the first time.

White, Green and Ross will square off against the Western Conference threesome of Jeremy Evans, Eric Bledsoe and Kenneth Faried.

Evans, the 6-foot-9 forward from the Jazz, will be looking to defend the individual title that he won a year ago at Orlando.

The Pacers’ 6-foot-8 Green won the event in 2007 at Las Vegas when he leaped over a table to dunk in the final round to beat out Dwight Howard and finished runner-up to Howard in 2008 despite a crowd-pleasing first-round dunk where he blew out the candle on a cupcake that was sitting on the back of the rim.

State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, an all-inclusive skills showcase, will take place on Feb. 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston and will be televised live by TNT at 8 p.m. ET.

Two of the league’s long-range shooters — Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Steve Novak of the Knicks — will lead opposing teams in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest. Curry’s West teammates will be Ryan Anderson of the Hornets and Matt Bonner of the Spurs. Joining Novak on the East team will be Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers and Paul George of the Pacers.

It’s worth noting that Novak will be returning to the Toyota Center court where he broke into the NBA with the Rockets in 2006, while the league’s top 3-point percentage shooter — Kyle Korver of the Hawks — will not take part. But Anderson has the most 3-pointers this season.

The Taco Bell Skills Challenge will have Texans Tony Parker of the Spurs and Jeremy Lin of the Rockets joining forces with Trail Blazers rookie Damian Lillard for the West against the Hawks’ Jeff Teague, the Sixers’ Jrue Holiday and the Bucks Brandon Jennings.

The Sears Shooting Stars Competition, which features NBA players, WNBA players and NBA legends, will have James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Tina Thompson, Maya Moore, Robert Horry and Sam Cassell of the West taking on an East team of Brook Lopez, Chris Bosh, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Dominique Wilkins and Muggsy Bogues.

As part of the new format, points earned by each conference throughout the four All-Star Skills Competitions will determine the conference that earns the title of 2013 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night champion. Dwyane Wade of the Heat will serve as the East team captain and the Clippers’ Chris Paul will lead the West.

In addition, NBA Cares and State Farm will make a joint donation of $500,000 as part of the event, with $350,000 going to the winning conference’s charities and $150,000 to the runner-up conference’s charities. All of the charities will be selected by the conference captains, the NBA, and State Farm.

In drafting players for Team Chuck and Team Shaq in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal went in opposite directions with their top picks. Shaq built his foundation on the high-scoring backcourt of Irving and Lillard, while Barkley went for big men in Anthony Davis and Faried.

The 62nd NBA All-Star Game will be played on Feb. 17, at the Toyota Center.

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Thoughts On The East All-Star Reserves

January 17, 2013  ·  8:16PM

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Frontcourt. It must be frontcourt. None of this old-school centers nonsense because, we’re told, the game has changed, the dinosaurs have exited stage-and-tar-pits left and no one wants to get stuck watching Jamaal Magloire bang heads with Brad Miller in the league’s annual showcase.

Except that some of the best seasons in recent memory by legitimate NBA centers are being logged this season in the Eastern Conference. This is a real style vs. substance thing — you don’t seem baseball classifying guys merely as infield and outfield – and with the coaches holding sway over the All-Star benches, the hunch here is that size will matter.

Here are my thoughts on likely and deserving East reserves, who are not necessarily the same guys (for Scott Howard-Cooper‘s look at the West, click here):

THE BACKCOURT

Deron Williams has been an All-Star the past three years. But he’s not playing like one this season (16.6 ppg, 40.6 FG%). After only one year of voting for him, the East coaches haven’t formed the habit yet — and shouldn’t. Because Jrue Holiday (19.0 ppg, 8.8 apg, 2.29 assists-to-turnovers) has been better for Philadelphia, scoring and assisting more and turning the ball over less. And because Kyrie Irving (23.3 ppg, 40.5 3FG%, 21.9 PER) has been good enough to break through that bogus prohibition about “no All Stars from teams with losing records.” Hey coaches, it’s a team sport. You keep penalizing guys who are a little lonely in talent level, you’ll never get free agents to embrace the most challenging situations.allstar-13-200

My picks: Holiday, Irving.

THE FRONTCOURT

Roy Hibbert loudly proclaimed “Bull [bleep!]“ when asked his thoughts about the new frontcourt category. The Indiana center enjoyed his All-Star experience last winter and felt the rules were getting rigged to make a repeat performance more difficult. In fact, Hibbert’s own play (9.7 ppg, 8.2 rpt, 41.0 FG%) and that of some rival conference big men have made a repeat nearly impossible. Chicago’s Joakim Noah is having a breakthrough season, scoring (12.3 ppg), shooting (10.2 FGAs), assisting (4.1 apg) and blocking (2.0 bpg) more than ever to keep the Bulls afloat in Derrick Rose’s absence. Carlos Boozer (21 double-doubles) and Luol Deng (better numbers than last year, his first as an All-Star) have been solid, too. New York’s Tyson Chandler makes another bid for traditional centers with his 12.4 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 67.2% accuracy and rim defense. Chris Bosh’s numbers aren’t gaudy but on a 36-minute basis (19.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg) he’s been fine — and coaches like that sense of sacrifice for other stars. The Nets’ Brook Lopez is playing better (18.6 ppg, 51.7 FG%) than some guys who made it in the past but might miss out.

My picks: Noah, Chandler, Bosh.

THE WILD CARDS

The wild cards: What finally might have been Josh Smith‘s year to crack the All-Star roster fizzled this week with his performance – and one-game team suspension resulting from a reversion to old habits – in the Hawks’ 58-point mess at Chicago. I know the Knicks’ J.R. Smith has remade himself as a contributing team guy, but I can’t see the coaches falling in line on him in just a half season. Then again, Indiana’s Paul George has taken a giant step in the first half of his third season and, in picking up the slack of Danny Granger, is the most valuable Pacer (David West is pretty close). That leaves one spot for someone left over from above – or better yet, for Paul Pierce, still getting it done (21.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.2 apg per 36 minutes) for Boston. Some like Charles Barkley prefer half-season wonders but the All-Star Game still is a place to honor and enjoy all-timers in twilight, too.

My picks: George, Pierce.

All-Star starters announced.

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Vasquez, Gordon Give Hornets Some Hope

January 9, 2013  ·  2:04PM

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HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – Greivis Vasquez deserves a raise — which he’ll get in due time — or the key to the city or, heck, just make him mayor of New Orleans.

The city, and its beleaguered basketball team, couldn’t ask for a better ambassador than the Venezuelan-born point guard who’s leaving his heart and sweat on the floor every night as he emerges as a top talent in the league.

“The biggest thing is I’m getting an opportunity,” said Vasquez, a recent player of the week recipient. “Still, people don’t know about me as much because I’m playing in a small market, which I love. I love this city, I love this team.”

Pretty refreshing stuff from a third-year player just starting to hit his stride for a franchise that’s endured it’s share of hard knocks in recent years — including a hard-luck 7-25 start to this season.

Yet as I wrote after Saturday’s 99-96 overtime win at Dallas, the season really started at that moment. Add Monday’s impressive thumping of the San Antonio Spurs in front of 11,599 that ended a seven-game home losing streak, and Wednesday’s fourth-quarter comeback against the previously streaking Houston Rockets, and the Hornets are on a roll with their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Why the reset on the season?

Because the ridiculously youthful Hornets finally got game-changer and now-healthy shooting guard Eric Gordon in the starting lineup Saturday. It allowed coach Monty Williams to make other changes and roll out the starting five he envisioned.

And this is where Vasquez’s ambassadorial value comes shining through. A 6-foot-6, bearded jolt of energy, smiles, enthusiasm and positivity, his team-first attitude is absolutely contagious. It’s critical to the evolution of this franchise, and no more so than as it relates to Gordon, the 6-foot-3 scoring machine deemed the future of the franchise when New Orleans acquired him in the painful CP3 trade 13 months ago.

“I have a good relationship with Eric and I tell you this, we have been talking a lot,” Vasquez said before Saturday’s comeback victory. “Eric is a pro. I feel him as a player too, because his knee was really bothering him. But now he feels like his teammates got his back, we all got his back. We all know he’s going to make us better and we’re going to make him better. And now, we talked [Friday] night, we’re going to make this situation a great situation. We’re going to start winning games.

“For a guy like that to say that to a guy like me, that means a lot. I’m sure he’s saying that on behalf of the whole team because we’re winners, we want to win and we work. And that has been the main thing of our team, we’re going to work regardless. Whether we lose or win tomorrow we are getting better because our vision is in the future.” (more…)

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Stop The Floppers By Ignoring Them

December 17, 2012  ·  1:58AM

HANG TIME, Texas – The shot that will get the big run on all the highlights shows and the most clicks on YouTube will, of course, be Damian Lillard’s frozen rope jumper with 0.3 seconds left that provided the margin of difference in the Blazers’ 95-94 win over the Hornets on Sunday night.

But it says here that just as big a play came a little over a minute earlier and it wasn’t by a guard, forward or center and not by anyone in a Portland or New Orleans uniform.

Take a bow, referee David Guthrie.

The Blazers had squandered most of their 16-point lead when LaMarcus Aldridge got the ball on the left wing in front of the New Orleans’ bench and turned to drive the baseline on Ryan Anderson. Aldridge leaned in just slightly with his left shoulder and might have drawn a whistle for an offensive foul. Except that Anderson reacted as if he’d been charged by every bull that had ever run through the streets of Pamplona and flung himself to the floor.

What happened next? Aldridge simply stepped back and nailed a 15-footer with 1:04 showing on the clock that turned out to be the bucket that set up Lillard’s heroics.

Guthrie simply watched. And there wasn’t a peep of protest from the Hornets’ bench.

A flop is a flop is a flop. There was no need to send the video feed to the league office and wait for a ruling from the Sheriff of Floppingham, a.k.a. Stu Jackson. No need to wait a few days to levy a fine or pass down heavy-handed punishment after the fact. None of the extra level of bureaucratic nonsense that has entered the game this season with the advent of the Flop Council.

I would like to see flopping taken out of the game as much as the next guy. But we’re not even two months into the season and I’m already fed up hearing color commentators on League Pass talk nightly about whether this player should be warned or whether that player will get the dreaded fine notice or maybe a particularly egregious violator will be made to play for the next several weeks wearing a dunce cap and a bright red nose.

It’s a call that should be made — or not — right then and right there by the game officials on the scene, not somebody sitting in a New York office with a remote control in his hand, actually undercutting officials by second-guessing them. Tell them to be definitive on the spot.

If you want to drop the hammer on floppers, give the referees the power to slap them with technical fouls, maybe even an extra free throw for every additional violation in a game.

Or better yet, simply instruct them all to react like David Guthrie. Just ignore the fakers and let the game play on.

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Dirk Travels, Scoring Load Still Mayo’s

December 5, 2012  ·  2:44PM





DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki traveled with the Dallas Mavericks for the first time this season as they open a three-game road trip at the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night on ESPN. Nowitzki won’t play in any of the games, though that’s of little concern to O.J. Mayo, who has carried Dallas’ offense without Dirk. Mayo is busy figuring out how his opponents are scheming to slow down his career start.

“Really blitzing, making me work to get shots, to even get the ball,” said Mayo, averaging a team-best 20.2 points a game. “So I have to remain aggressive on both ends of the floor, and on nights my offense isn’t going, still remain with the same intensity on the defensive end.”

Mayo was the obvious choice to shoulder the offensive burden with Nowitzki unavailable to the re-made Mavs until at least mid-December after arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 19. Still, few could have imagined Mayo’s sizzling start, especially from beyond the arc where he’s hit 52.7 percent, second only to San Antonio’s little-used Matt Bonner, who has yet to put up a third of Mayo’s 93 attempts.

O.J. Mayo is off to the best shooting start of his career.

O.J. Mayo is off to the best shooting start of his career.

Only New Orleans’ Ryan Anderson has made more 3-pointers than Mayo’s 49. He’s drained 52, but on 30 more attempts.

Without Mayo’s long bombs, the Mavs would find themselves farther down the West standings than they already are. At 8-9 and out of the top eight, Dallas has gone as Mayo goes.

On this trip, they will need to score more points than they normally do. The Clippers — whose leading scorer, Jamal Crawford, has experienced similar defensive scrutiny — are averaging nearly 101 points a game, and surprising Houston nearly 104. In between is a stop at Phoenix where the Suns will be desperate for a win after flopping through a 1-5 road trip.

In the Mavs’ wins, few and far between lately (they’re 4-8 in their last 12 games), Mayo is averaging 24.4 points and 55.8 percent from beyond the arc, making 29-of-52, and shooting 53.5 percent overall.

In the losses, he’s averaging 15.2 points, shooting 41.7 percent on 3s and just 40.7 percent overall. He’s gotten off 16 fewer 3-pointers in the team’s nine losses compared to its eight wins, and made 14 fewer.

During the Mavs’ recent three-game slide it was no coincidence that Mayo went 1-for-10 from 3-point range, 11-for-34 from the floor and scored a total of 28 points. That was one more point than he scored in each of the Mavs’ last two wins when he was 9-for-16 on 3s and shot better than 50 percent to rally the Mavs past the Knicks and Pistons.

“He’s been seeing trapping defenses really since the third or fourth game of the season, and so it’s something he’s going to have to adjust to,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “As the third or fourth option in Memphis, he wasn’t seeing these kinds of defenses as much. He’s stepped up his game here, he’s getting more attention, so now he’s got to adjust and we’ve got to adjust.”

For Dallas and their leading scorer, the most welcome adjustment will come when the 7-foot German makes his season debut and finally shifts the focus of opposing defenses away from Mayo.

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Nicholson Makes Early Magic

July 9, 2012  ·  7:17PM





ORLANDO – If the latest swirl of rumors prove true and the Dwight Howard circus finally ends with guard Jason Richardson joining the All-Star center in a trade package to Brooklyn, the Magic will be without three of their current top four scorers. Forward Ryan Anderson will be shipped to New Orleans.

That means the Magic will be in an all-out rebuilding mode and will have a glaring need for a go-to scorer next season.

So here came Andrew Nicholson with a quite timely debut in the AirTran Airways Orlando Pro Summer League on Monday.

The No. 19 pick in the draft appeared very comfortable, displayed an array of offensive moves and converted a three-point play that put the Magic in front for good in a win over the Nets.

“I just played my game, used my versatility and length,” Nicholson said after making 8-of-16 shots for 24 points and also collecting 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.

(more…)

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Hornets To Acquire Anderson From Magic In Sign-And-Trade Deal

July 8, 2012  ·  4:32PM




The New Orleans Hornets continued to add to their rebuilding process Sunday, agreeing to terms with restricted free agent forward Ryan Anderson, the NBA’s 2012 Most Improved Player winner, on a four-year deal worth between $34 and $36 million, according to league sources. The acquisition will officially be a sign-and-trade deal, with the Magic receiving center Gustavo Ayon from New Orleans. The deal cannot be consummated until after the end of the July Moratorium on the 11th.

The 24-year-old Anderson earned himself a big payday last season, shooting 39 percent from three-point range and averaging career highs in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounds (7.7) for the Magic. But it became apparent that the Magic, trying to figure out how to put a roster together amid swirling trade talks for Dwight Howard, weren’t going to be willing to pay what Anderson wanted in free agency. He played mostly power forward for the Magic last season and will likely have the same role for the Hornets, who took Anthony Davis with the first pick overall in last month’s Draft.  After dealing Ayon, New Orleans’ only other returning center on the roster would be free agent Chris Kaman, who is not expected to return.

Anderson’s deal is similar in average to the expected new contract the Bucks will give forward Ersan Ilyasova, who finished second to Anderson in the Most Improved Player vote and is a stretch four himself. Ilyasova and the Bucks are working on a five-year deal worth $45 million.

The Hornets have remade their roster in a matter of weeks, trading big man Emeka Okafor and forward Trevor Ariza to Washington in June for forward Rashard Lewis, whom they promptly bought out for $13.7 million. They took Davis and Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers in the first round of the Draft, and insist they will match the proposed $56 million offer sheet guard Eric Gordon received last week from the Phoenix Suns.

Ayon played well for the Hornets last season when Kaman was out with injuries, starting 24 games for New Orleans. He averaged 5.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. He is a low-priced ($1.5 million) alternative for Orlando up front next season and would back up Howard if the All-Star center were somehow still on the Magic’s roster at the start of the season.

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