Heat quickly come to Kyle Anderson realization Warriors made weeks ago

While Jimmy Butler was busy playing a lead role in a second-straight Golden State Warriors victory, it was a rough outing for veteran forwards Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson in their debut for the Miami Heat on Monday.

Wiggins knocked down three free-throws on the first possession of the game and drilled a wing 3-pointer minutes later, but the 2022 All-Star was otherwise quiet over the final three periods to finish with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists on 3-of-12 shooting in a 103-85 defeat.

Wiggins had a productive bounce-back season with the Warriors before last week's blockbuster trade. Even despite Monday's underwhelming start, there's little doubt the 29-year-old will be a quality starting small forward whose value will lie in 16-18 points per game and high-level defense.

The Heat have already come to a Kyle Anderson realization

Anderson's role with the Heat is far more up in the air, having previously seen his minutes dwindle in the Bay after after signing a three-year, $27 million contract in free agency. The 31-year-old had been a quality 20+ minute rotation player on a playoff team over the last two seasons, yet struggled to reach those heights despite initially being seen as a valuable offseason acquisition.

Anderson averaged just 15 minutes with the Warriors -- the least since his third year in the league with the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17. The veteran forward played in just three of Golden State's last nine games prior to the trade, and had also received six DNPs earlier in the season.

Despite holding a versatile game at his best, Steve Kerr quickly realized that Anderson's lack of shooting and scoring simply wouldn't fit in with the likes of Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

The Heat and their fans may have come to a similar realization less than 10 minutes into Anderson's first game with the team, leading to some frustration on social media as Miami fell to an 18-point defeat.

Anderson played just under 10 minutes in the first-half against the Celtics, recording zero points and just three rebounds while being a -14 as the visitors made the decisive move of the game with a 34-19 second-quarter.

Having shot 0-of-5 from the floor including missing his only 3-point attempt, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra may have surmised just as Kerr did that Anderson was/is unplayable. He was benched over the entire second-half, with youngsters Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson preferred in bench roles.

It will now be interesting to see if Anderson can forge a role with the Heat in a way he was unable to with the Warriors, particularly given he still holds two years left on his contract at nearly $19 million combined.