The Washington Wizards continue to hover around the .500 mark this season as they are 19-21 after losing their last two games. Washington is getting great play from their star, John Wall, this season but they have suffered an inordinate amount of injuries around him and it has really affected the team. Bradley Beal is finally back and playing well but the Wizards are still missing some key players like Alan Anderson who looks to be nowhere close to returning, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post.
Anderson was signed this offseason by the Wizards to a one year deal worth about $4 million and the hope was that he along with Gary Neal and Jared Dudley would help fill the void Paul Pierce left when he signed with the Clippers in free agency. Instead, Anderson has yet to even play in a single game for the Wizards and it looks like his return is a long way away.
Anderson had multiple surgeries on his ankle this offseason and has been trying to work his way back. On Tuesday Anderson was spotted going through a workout but it didn't look like he was doing any sort of jumping, according to J. Michael of CSN Washington. Anderson's timetable has been all over the place this season as he was expected back in early January, then late January but now it is looking like he will be held out until the end of February at the very earliest as he has still not been cleared for full contact.
Anderson isn't the kind of player that, by himself, will change the Wizards fortunes but he is a good guy to bring off the bench as he plays solid defense and can knock down the three ball. The Wizards are pretty deep on the wings so Anderson's injury normally wouldn't be that big of a deal but they have had so many injuries to wing players including starting small forward Otto Porter who has missed the last three games with a hip injury.
Anderson's recovery has certainly taken longer than the Wizards would have hoped and even though they have suffered a lot of injuries this year it seems like he may be the last player to return. Anderson's role if and when he does come back is a major question mark and will likely depend on how healthy he looks but if he is back to full strength he should be helpful to a mostly stagnant Wizards team.
