Houston Rockets: K.J. McDaniels Earns Increased Role
K.J. McDaniels came to the Houston Rockets via trade and was left on the bench. Mike D’Antoni’s arrival has given McDaniels’ career new life as an athletic spark.
Houston Rockets swingman K.J. McDaniels has some impressive shooting stats to kick off the 2016-17 season. In three games, he’s averaging 7.3 points per game on 10-of-16 shooting. This start has given him a 17.4 Player Efficiency Rating.
The first two games — along with a preseason that saw him average 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds — would seem to like a modest output from a useful role player.
In the context of McDaniels’ tenure in Houston, they are the numbers of a player shining in the increased minutes he’s earned.
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted K.J. McDaniels out of Clemson in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. His time in Philly was relatively short, playing 52 games (15 starts) before being traded to Houston at the 2015 trade deadline.
He left numerous highlight plays in his wake.
Things changed for McDaniels when he arrived in Houston under Kevin McHale. He finished the 2014-15 season playing 33 total minutes in 10 games. Houston acquired the athleticism and explosion of K.J. McDaniels, then bottled it up.
Despite the reduced role, the Rockets signed him to a new multi-year contract during the 2015 off-season. While McHale, and later J.B. Bickerstaff, didn’t utilize him as much, the organization must have seen K.J. as a long-term prospect.
The Rockets sent McDaniels down to D-League Rio Grande Valley on eight occasions. He averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks in 16 games with the Vipers.
Even with his impressive numbers on the farm, KJ’s explosiveness at the rim was still missing. He mostly stuck with jump shots or basic finishes on offense. He reserved his athleticism for the defensive end when he skied for blocks or snagged one of his 15 steals.
KJ remained on the bench whenever he was called up to Houston. His most notable moment of 2015-16 saw him tasked with fouling Andre Drummond five times in nine seconds.
It felt like a major waste for J.B. Bickerstaff to relegate such an exciting player to paltry minutes and the role of Intentional Foul Guy.
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McDaniels played 37 NBA games in 2015-16, getting one start and averaging 6.4 minutes. He was able to get into four of the Rockets’ playoff games against the Warriors. He was not a factor in the series.
The 2016 offseason brought McDaniels new hope in terms of his role with the team. Mike D’Antoni, forever known for his “7 Seconds or Less” offense, became the team’s new head coach. One of his first choices helped give McDaniels new life off the bench.
D’Antoni announced during the preseason that he would be making James Harden into a point guard. The choice has worked so far, with Harden piling up the assists: 17 against the Lakers, eight at the Mavericks, and seven in the return game in Houston.
That move has also allowed McDaniels more time at the shooting guard position behind new starter Eric Gordon.
In that additional time, McDaniels has proven to D’Antoni that he still has the hops and the shooting touch that helped him in Philadelphia and Rio Grande Valley. K.J. picked up his first highlight of the season when he threw down a double-pump slam against the Mavericks.
Even though his PER will surely level out as the season progresses, K.J. McDaniels has proven that he can be an exciting and important role player for the Rockets in 2017.