David Andersen, Australian Boomer and soon to be Houston Rocket.
The 7’0″ centre who has been plying his trade in CSKA Moscow and FC Barcelona, winning titles and generally impressing, has just had his draft rights traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets didn’t make the move on a whim — they have a genuine need for the big man from Victoria and will sign him this week to start at centre in place of the injured Yao Ming.
That’s right — Andersen will go from wondering for years if he’d play in the NBA, after being drafted in 2002 by the Hawks, to being a starter lining up against countryman Andrew Bogut.
This from the Houston Chronicle:
Aussie. Aussie. Aussie.
Yao? Yao? Yao?
Well, no. David Andersen is not the Australian Yao Ming. He could, however, be the Australian Brad Miller. And he should play for the Rockets more than enough to bring that cheer – Aussie. Aussie. Aussie. Oi. Oi. Oi. – to Toyota Center.
As soon as he signs a contract, which should not take a day or two, he will be penciled in as the Rockets new starting center.
Andersen’s international career for the Australian Boomers and club career in Europe has been noticed by many. Finally it’s time for him to shine in America.
The Rockets? They pick up a 6-11, 29-year-old Euroleague veteran considerably down under the radar.
He does, however, fit the plan. This is not a free agent pick up to add depth. That might still come. He is one of those trade targets Daryl Morey has been talking about. He is widely considered to be among the top centers in Europe, playing and winning for the top teams in recent years, and with a style that fits extremely well with the way the Rockets will have to play.
In many ways, the descriptions of Andersen sound a lot like the descriptions of Luis Scola when the Rockets made that deal, except that Scola had played on such a great national teams it had been far easier to see him. Andersen, however, is described as a determined, hard-working team player, with strong offensive skills, and a good shot, but a marginal athlete likely to have problems defensively.
At center, that might be as much of an issue, if only because there are so few good offensive centers compared to Scola’s task against all those power forwards.
In Andersen’s case, he fits in the way the Rockets hoped Marcin Gortat would, as a very solid backup to Yao, and a decent fill-in starter.
Expect him to sign a contract that fits that, probably for two or three seasons and worth about $2.6 million per.
Also expect him to start opening night.
The big fella recently spoke to Basketball Australia about the move. Audio below:
