When the Golden State Warriors made the trade for Jimmy Butler, aggregating salaries (and moving on from a pair of fan-favorites in Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson) was a necessary move. They needed to add a star, even if it came at the cost of their rotational depth.
Andrew Wiggins quickly found his footing with the Miami Heat, taking on a major role through the remainder of the 2024-25 season and over the course of this past campaign. Through 68 games with Miami in 2025-26, he averaged 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while knocking down 41.4% of his attempts from 3-point range. He was an integral part of the moderate success the Heat found this season.
But Anderson, for his part, struggled to find his footing after leaving Golden State. He spent the remainder of 2024-25 in Miami on a limited workload before being moved along with Kevin Love to the Utah Jazz in the offseason.
After moving again to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade and quickly being released, Anderson found what seemed to be his ideal place in Minnesota. That resurgence, however, seems to have sadly come to an end with his DNP against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
Kyle Anderson's time in the NBA may rapidly be coming to an end
Across 12 seasons and six organizations, Anderson has had a career to be proud of. But his skill-set is limited. The reality is that, as he continues to decline athletically, there will be fewer and fewer places for him on NBA rosters.
He seemed to have temporarily found his perfect role with the Timberwolves, though. After receiving 25 DNPs during the half-season he spent in Utah, he played in all but two of his games during his regular-season tenure in Minnesota. He even received a pair of starts at the end of the season.
With Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo missing portions of the first round, the Timberwolves again turned to Anderson. He played a total of 35 minutes across five games, including nearly 15 minutes in Game 5. But he missed Game 6 with an illness, and although he wasn't listed on the injury report Game 1 against San Antonio, he did not see the court.
Instead, Chris Finch kept his rotation tight, granting ninth-man minutes only to second-year guard Jaylen Clark.
There may still be NBA opportunities for Anderson, who will be a free agent this offseason. He's a dependable presence off the bench, and he shot an efficient 53% from the field across his three stops this season.
But we may very well be witnessing the final stretch for Slo Mo as we speak.
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