Is There a Path Back for Cole Anthony?

Yesterday, the Phoenix Suns waived a player they had had for less than a month. Despite only recently acquiring him from the Milwaukee Bucks at the recent NBA trade deadline, the Suns cut Anthony without ever having him appear in a game, which now means that four different franchises have let Anthony leave them since June.

Anthony was initially a draft pick of the Orlando Magic, and had been re-signed to an extension by them for three years and $39.1 million that he is supposed to still be on. However, since the end of last season, he has been traded to the Memphis Grizzlies as a purely financial instrument part of the Desmond Bane trade, bought out by them, signed for merely the minimum with the Bucks, traded to the Suns, and cut once more.

From tremendous job security to four teams in nine months, and with no contract any longer, Anthony has fallen out of the NBA aged only 25. At one point, he was a starter averaging as near as is 16/6/6 across an entire season. How did it go wrong so quickly for him from there, and is there a path back for him to an NBA rotation from here?

 

Came Through Some Tough Magic Days

The context in which that 16/6/6 season (which came in 2021-22, his second year) tells some of the story. The Magic that season were levels below where they are now, had the worst offensive rating in the entire NBA on their way to a lowly 22-60 record, and were looking for anyone who could do anything off the bounce in the halfcourt more than Terrence Ross, Gary Harris and Markelle Fultz. Anthony could, and still can.

That 16.3 points per game season was however the product of a lot of volume shooting. Always aggressive, and often to the point that it is detrimental, Anthony forced a lot of his shots that season, including many a hanging-deep two on which he shot only 30%. Anthony’s role shrank as the Magic teams got better around him, and this was not a coincidence.

On his bad days, Anthony would dribble until his palms were orange, using entire possessions to look for his shot. On his good days, he would make them. But when he would miss most of them, as was the case all too often, Anthony’s potential usage as a sixth man-type microwave scorer was undercut by his own overconfidence He combined LaMelo Ball’s shot selection with Lonzo Ball’s shotmaking, and was a liability more often than he was a boon.

 

 

Most Of Anthony’s Shots Go Into His Own Foot

With better shot selection, though, it does not have to be that way.

With shake in his dribble, size, sufficient athleticism and decent-when-consistently-applied defensive instincts, plus the ability to thread the needle with his passes when so inclined, Anthony has enough of an all-around game that he does not have to self-define through his scoring. And even if he continues to do so – after all, career-long habits are not easily broken – he can still be a focal offensive player while dialling down all the hanging middies a bit.

As the son of Greg and a likeable character, Anthony has things going for him beyond the scoring bag. The whole NBA already knows he can score. What the whole NBA needs to see is that he can accept not needing to do it so much. The need to prove himself, having such a talent advantage at the college level, and being on some offensively poor Magic teams to begin his career, may all have conspired to cement this excessive offensive aggression into his basketball DNA. But while being able to take over games can get a player into the NBA, being able to accept a role keeps them within it.

The path to a Jordan Clarkson-esque career exists, but Clarkson at his best was always a cut above. Anthony needs another opportunity, and will likely get one, but needs to evolve into the next phase of his career if he is to take it.

Mark Deeks I am continuously intrigued by the esoterica and minutiae of all the aspects of building a basketball team. I want to understand how to build the best basketball teams possible. No, I don’t know why, either. More about Mark Deeks