Christian Anderson didn’t need long after his summer league debut to get back to work.
A little more than 10 miles from the Las Vegas strip, the Hornets rookie was already back in the film room with assistant coach Ryan Frazier, spending about 30 minutes after practice breaking down his first game against the Orlando Magic. Anderson said nerves were part of the story in Charlotte’s 86-74 win, but the physicality hit him too.
“It was super physical,” Anderson, a 6-1 guard, explained after scoring just six points in Charlotte's 86-74 win. “Like, everybody's huge, athletic, and, you know, grabbing and holding. So you just got to find ways to get around it.”
The box score wasn’t pretty - Anderson went 2-11 from the field - and he didn’t try to dress it up. He said he hadn’t played five-on-five in a while, and the rust showed.
He wouldn’t put a grade on the outing, only saying it wasn’t his best. That made the postgame film session even more useful.
“We were looking at plays or situations that I can improve on, get better at, and learn from next game,” he said. “(It was) a productive study.”
Anderson sounded comfortable with the idea of being coached hard. In fact, he said the criticism he’s getting now doesn’t compare to what he heard growing up from his father, Christian Anderson Sr., who played professionally in Germany.
“You can ask anybody, he was super hard on me,” Anderson said. “But I think that's what made me into the person and player I am.”
For Anderson, the last month has been a lot to absorb: getting drafted, landing in Vegas for the first time, and trying to make sense of a new level of basketball all at once. He said he’s enjoying it and doing his best to take it all in, even the rough patches.
The Hornets are counting on him to keep adjusting, especially now that the LaMelo Ball trade became official Thursday. If things break right, Anderson could end up as the team’s primary ball handler off the bench. That’s a heavy responsibility for a rookie, but he doesn’t sound rattled.
“Just playing through mistakes right now and getting as prepared and ready,” he said. “(It’s about) taking all the feedback I can to help me improve and be ready for when my name is called.”
In Other News...
Hornets Just Sent A Surprising Message About Kon Knueppel
Kon Knueppels first Summer League appearance with the Hornets came with an unusual twist, and it said plenty about how Charlotte views the rookie. Instead of sitting with teammates or spending the opener on the floor, he was placed alongside the coaching staff, giving him a front-row seat to the way the Hornets handle substitutions, defensive tweaks and offensive sets in real time.
It was a quiet but notable developmental move for a player the organization clearly believes has more going on upstairs than the average newcomer. Charlotte has not explained the decision, which only adds to the intrigue, but the setup gave Knueppel a rare chance to absorb the game from the bench and study the kind of details young players usually miss. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Trade Delay Is Holding Up More Than Fans Realized
A Hornets deal that has been sitting in the background is finally moving toward the finish line, with the LaMelo Ball and Naz Reid trade expected to be completed Friday as part of a larger four-team transaction. The move is being folded into a complicated set of leaguewide business that also ties in the Timberwolves, Nets and Bulls, the kind of paperwork-heavy shuffle that can keep a roster note from becoming official even after the basketball side is settled.
The ripple effects have reached beyond Charlotte, too. The Suns are waiting on the completion of the Hornets Bridges-related trade before they can finalize Luke Kennards signing because of salary-cap rules, while other teams are still navigating their own delayed business, including the Clippers Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto. Even around the edges, the offseason is still being shaped by timing, cap math and a few transactions that are not quite done yet. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Fans Just Got An Encouraging First Look At Liam McNeeley
Charlottes Summer League opener offered an early glimpse of what Liam McNeeley can bring to the Hornets, and it came in a win. After a sluggish start against Orlando, Charlotte settled in and leaned on McNeeleys scoring to take control in an 86-74 victory, with the forward finishing as the teams leading scorer and giving the offense the kind of lift the Hornets were hoping to see from him right away.
The supporting cast did its part, too, as Hannes Steinbach added a strong all-around showing and Ryan Kalkbrenner chipped in with a productive night on the boards. Charlottes ability to recover after the rough opening stretch was encouraging on its own, but the bigger takeaway was how quickly McNeeley looked comfortable carrying the offense once the game opened up. [Read more 🡒]