Ryan Anderson eyeing Rockets, Kings, Wizards in free agency

New Orleans Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson is ready to enjoy NBA free agency this summer, and is interested in teams like the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.

There’s no knowing where Ryan Anderson may sign this summer or whether he’ll simply stay put with the New Orleans Pelicans. He was one of the hottest commodities at the NBA trade deadline back in February due to his stellar ability to space the floor as a power forward while also owning upcoming free agent status, something that made it look highly possible he’d be dealt out of New Orleans.

The Pelicans simply weren’t going anywhere and the worry of losing Anderson for nothing in free agency was looming. And now, even though he may stay, that possibility is looming even closer.

“For me, I want to play all the cards. I want to enjoy this process and see where New Orleans is at this summer,” Anderson said on J.J. Redick’s podcast at The Vertical. “I want to see where, I don’t know, Houston is at or Sacramento or Washington. So for me, I’m not going to say, ‘Listen, I want a trade’ when I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer.”

As you can see from Anderson’s comments, he isn’t desperate to leave New Orleans. He mentioned in the podcast that a reason he didn’t demand a trade in the regular season, through all the talk and speculation, was to keep the opportunity to return to the Pelicans in the summer alive. Yet, as he freely mentioned a few teams that sprung to mind, whether they’re teams he’d love to join or just some that have his interest (the latter is more likely), he isn’t dead set on staying put either.

In fact, Anderson may have missed this chance to enjoy free agency altogether if things worked out slightly differently in February. If the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t pick up Channing Frye as their new sharpshooting big man, Anderson could very well be with them in the Eastern Conference Finals right now.

“There was a very last-minute phone call that I could have gone to Cleveland. I would be playing for the Cavs right now,” Anderson said to Redick.

Well, as much as Anderson may have wanted to stick around with the Pelicans, it’s hard to see that he wouldn’t enjoy a great chance of pursuing a ring as a key contributor with the Cavs.

“I’m excited for this summer to kind of be an unrestricted free agent, finally, and feel things out, have my decision be the one that matters,” Anderson added to Redick. And in the summer, with the eagerness to test the market, Ryan Anderson leaving the Pelicans seems like a very real possibility, with a few organizations to possibly keep an eye on already.

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