The reaction to the Nerlens Noel trade so far – whether for or AGAINST – has been those two second round picks. But the Sixers got an actual basketball player in the deal, too. His name is Justin Anderson. Let’s talk about him.

Anderson was the 21st pick in the 2015 draft out of the University of Virginia, where he averaged 12.2 points and 4 rebounds on 45% shooting from long-range in his senior year. According to the Dallas News, the Mavericks tried to do the deal without Anderson involved – can you imagine? – but the Sixers were “adamant” he be included. Here’s a small tweet exchange he had last night:

His nickname is Simba, which should help with the Raise the Cat stuff. [Editor’s note: Eggggggcelent.]

Anderson played only 55 games his rookie year, but in the 51 he’s played so far this season he’s shooting 30.3% from three, while scoring 16.7 points per-36 minutes (he averages 14 minutes per game).

David Murphy wrote about Anderson being the key to the trade. Here was his takeaway:

In October, an NBA scout gave a glowing review of Anderson to Sports Illustrated, opining that he considered the second-year guard to be “almost as good a player as Harrison Barnes,” the former Golden State Warrior whom the Mavericks had signed to a big free-agent contract over the offseason.

“Justin Anderson is gonna be good. I wonder how long of a leash [coach Rick] Carlisle will have with him. Rick prefers to play two guards, two smaller guards who are good pick-and-roll players, and that’s not Justin. … I actually think Justin Anderson is almost as good a player as Harrison Barnes. Maybe not quite as good as a scorer, but rebounding, shot-blocking, he’ll be a decent shooter this year. He’ll be a solid piece of their rotation.”

Almost Harrison Barnes is fine. Bouncy Jae Crowder is cool. Anderson could work (and his contract is insanely team friendly), but he’ll have to hit those marks for this trade to end up looking like a success.