David Anderson to Toronto Raptors

Thanks to Mookie from A Stern Warning, I've just found out that Aussie David Andersen has been traded to the Toronto Raptors. With Yao Ming likely to return to the Rockets this season, the trade is probably a good one for Andersen especially now that Hedo and Bosh are no longer in Toronto.

David could see some minutes in a young inexperienced Raptors team looking to make a fresh start. I was pleased for him with his production in Houston and while he didn't set the world on fire, he was never meant to and delivered liked a professional should.

For more perspective on the trade, check out Mookie's write-up here.

Houston Rockets trade center David Anderson to Toronto Raptors - ESPN

HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets have traded center David Andersen to the Toronto Raptors for cash and a future second-round draft pick.

The 6-foot-11 Australian averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 63 games last season, his first in the NBA. Andersen helped fill the void for Houston while Yao Ming sat out last season with a foot injury. Yao is expected to return healthy this season, and the Rockets signed free-agent center Brad Miller to back him up.

The Rockets acquired Andersen's rights from the Atlanta Hawks last July, not long after Yao announced he would have foot surgery and probably miss the 2009-10 season.

Andersen was a second-round draft choice of the Hawks in 2002. He had previously played in Europe, most recently in the Spanish League with FC Barcelona.

Houston vs New Orleans

I was looking forward to the NBA game on OneHD today between the Rockets and the Hornets and it certainly didn't disappoint.

From my point of view it had just about everything you could hope to see:

• A back and forth, close game
• Chris Paul triple double
• Great shooting from both teams
• An offensive explosion from David West
• Great shooting from both Aaron Brooks (pictured below) and Shane Battier for the Rockets (both had 5 triples)
• A nice 12 minute cameo from David Andersen off the bench (6 points, 4 boards)

The only thing missing today was Rockets rookie Chase Budinger who I think could be a handy player for the team in the near future. With Scola, Brooks, Landry and co there is a lot to like for the Houston Rockets, even without their superstars in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

Despite 44 points from David West, the Houston Rockets won the game 108 - 100 behind 27 from Aaron Brooks, 20 from Battier and 18 from Landry off the bench.

David Andersen delivers

Its been a fairly unexciting last few weeks in the NBA if you're following the hopes and dreams of David Andersen and Nathan Jawai. If you've checked out a Portland Trailblazers game lately you've no doubt seen Patty Mills in plain clothes sitting behind the bench watching the action.

Thankfully tho there is some good news ... Andrew Bogut has returned from his most recent injury and is putting up good numbers for the Milwaukee Bucks. The team itself is doing well considering they've been without star Michael Redd and they've surprised all but DJ Rod (who said they would have a good season) and are sitting just under 500, good enough for 6th spot in the Eastern Conference.

A week or two back when Kevin Love returned from injury for the Minnesota Timberwolves it looked like it might be the end for Nathan Jawai's minutes. He's had a number of DNP-CD's since then but the good news for Nathan is that his team is the worst in the league which means they get beaten regularly and by quite a margin. This means there is plenty of garbage minutes and today Nathan got to enjoy a few of them. In just 18 minutes of court-time, Jawai notched up 9 points, 7 boards, 1 block and a steal. Don't expect these numbers out of him regularly, but every now and again he'll get time when the result of the games have been decided. At this stage of his development, the more time the youngster can spend on the court during the game can only be beneficial.

Its been a similar story for David Andersen in Houston who had only seen 15 minutes of game time once this month before tonight. David finds himself backing up an under-rated Rockets front-court including Luis Scola and Carl Landry who are both having career years. Andersen saw just over 20 minutes today and scored 17 points, 9 boards on a very tidy 6 of 8 from the field. The 17 points was just 2 short of his NBA career high that he had mid-November against the Lakers.

David Andersen isn't usually the focus of the photographers, unfortunately for him they didn't miss this awkward incident.

NBL'ers in the NBA

Still no good news regarding Patty Mills and his attempt to play in the NBA but there are Aussies or NBL-related players seeing some action in the NBA pre-season.

Firstly, David Andersen has been putting in work with the Houston Rockets. He knows he can't replace Yao Ming but in his last 3 games has average 25 minutes per game and has started 2 of them. He had 8 points 4 boards, 17 points 4 boards and 12 points 7 boards. Respective production, let's hope it continues in the regular season.

Secondly, former New Zealand Breakers import Carlos Powell is getting a run for the Phoenix Suns. Carlos was a scoring machine for the Breakers and had high hopes of stepping from the NBL to the NBA. He's spent some time in the D League but with Shaq in Cleveland and Robin Lopez injured, the Suns could using another scoring bigman. He came off the bench in his first game for 6 points 3 boards but started yesterday and had 12 points 3 boards.

Finally, Nathan Jawai has FINALLY stepped on court for the Dallas Mavericks. This article would tend to suggest he's unlikely to make their roster but it was nice all the same to see him get 2 points and 2 assists in 7 minutes of court-time (not surprisingly, a blowout Dallas win).

Thanks to the guys at NBA Mate for pointing out an article from NBA.com about our two main Aussies in the NBA.

Mate vs mate, Anderson shooting over Bogut in a pre-season game

David Andersen in the NBA?

As one of my friends put it in an e-mail: "This is actually a small blip on the sportswire, but pretty good news for Aussies".

After the bad news last week regarding Patty Mills and his broken foot, any news about Aussies getting a chance in the NBA brings excitement. David Andersen has earned a lot of respect for the numbers he puts up and his performances in Europe so with Yao Ming likely out for the season, he could get a chance to play some decent minutes for the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets likely won't be good this year, but from Andersen's point of view that's not such a bad thing as it should give him a chance to get some playing time. Fingers crossed!

Hawks trade rights of F-C Andersen to Rockets - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

ATLANTA (AP)—The Atlanta Hawks traded the rights to forward-center David Andersen to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday for an undisclosed second-round draft choice, cash and future considerations.

The 6-foot-11 Andersen was a second-round draft choice of the Hawks in 2002. He has spent his professional career in his native Australia and in Europe, most recently in the Spanish League with FC Barcelona.

The Rockets have been scrambling to find a center since the team announced last month that Yao Ming(notes) was out indefinitely with a hairline fracture in his left foot.

Andersen averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds to help FC Barcelona win the 2008-09 Spanish National Championship and a berth in the Euroleague Final Four. Andersen was a member of Euroleague championship teams with Virtus Bologna (2001) and CSKA Moscow (2006 and 2008).

“David has been a winner with every team he has played for in Europe,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “He is a very well-rounded player who possesses good offensive skills and a very good shooting touch for a big man.”

Andersen played for Australia in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.