Having missed their three top power forward options over multiple games, one would have expected the Golden State Warriors to be eager in welcoming one back from injury for Saturday's matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers.
While Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga are both set to spend more time on the sidelines, Kyle Anderson was off the injury report and available after a five-game absence due to a glute injury.
Kyle Anderson's DNP may only fuel trade speculation
But instead of welcoming Anderson quickly back to the rotation, Steve Kerr chose to continue sitting the veteran forward despite Golden State's front court injuries. The head coach chose to remain with his young players, with Moses Moody and Gui Santos continuing to play their fare share of minutes at power forward.
Both Moody and Santos have been impactful over recent games, particularly shooting the ball as Kerr searches for more offense. They weren't overly impactful against the Lakers though, combining for just 14 points and six rebounds on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor.
The Warriors probably could have done with some of Anderson's defensive versatility, especially given Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James combined for 61 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists to lead their team to a 118-108 victory.
If Anderson can't get minutes while Green and Kuminga are out of the lineup, then what does that say for his role with Golden State moving forward? The 31-year-old was signed to a three-year, $37 million contract in the offseason and was supposed to be a valuable 20-25 minute rotation player, but that hasn't played out at all even despite the team's mediocre 22-23 record.
The DNP on Saturday was Anderson's seventh of the season, having averaged just 15.2 minutes per game. That's his lowest playing time since his third year in 2016-17, with Anderson see at least 19.9 minutes of playing time in each of the last seven seasons.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported last week that Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney, Dennis Schroder and Buddy Hield could be trade candidates prior to the February 6 deadline, but why wouldn't that list also include Anderson who's seemingly playing a lesser rotational role than that quartet?
Anderson's time with the Warriors has been bizarre through the first-half of the season, but if his playing time is anything to go by, seeing him moved prior to the deadline wouldn't be so astonishing.