Brooklyn Nets: Adding K.J. McDaniels Is Another No Risk, High Reward Move

Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks had one successful trade deadline. Not only did he acquire a 2017 first-round draft pick without trading Brook Lopez, he also acquired KJ McDaniels for the cash equivalent of a second-round pick. Marks gave no assets for a defensive swingman who could possibly thrive in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Nets trading cash considerations to the Houston Rockets for KJ McDaniels is the deadline transaction that will steal the headlines and back pages. McDaniels has hardly seen the court down in Houston since Mike D’Antoni took over.

The 24-year-old swingman is averaging a mere 2.8 points and one rebound in about seven minutes per game in 29 games, which includes zero starts. You can’t put up numbers if you’re not playing, but it seems pretty safe to assume McDaniels will get an opportunity in Brooklyn.

McDaniels led his Clemson Tigers in scoring, rebounding, and blocks his junior year. He averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and about three blocks per game before winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year. McDaniels declared for the draft and was selected 32^nd overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

MUST READ: Close Losses Make Season Tougher For Nets

The Sixers were in the middle of the often criticized “process” (AKA tanking for the future). McDaniels played 52 games for Philadelphia, starting 15 of them, before getting traded to Houston in his rookie year. Through those 52 games, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 25 minutes per game.

Once he was traded to the Rockets, his playing time declined significantly. He averaged about 3.3 minutes in 10 games (zero starts), and his stat-line became practically non-existent. An elbow injury caused him to miss the Rockets’ playoff run his rookie season.

More from Nothin' But Nets

However, the Rockets did see potential in the young Clemson product since they signed him to a very team-friendly contract, $10 million over three years with a team option. In the 2015-16 season, McDaniels bounced between being assigned to the D-League and fighting for playing time off the Rockets bench.

McDaniels matches the young, undervalued, versatile type of player Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson want to build the Nets with. He will certainly get his best opportunity to play since Philadelphia, if not his best opportunity since being drafted. He adds the defensive versatility the Brooklyn Nets need, being able to defend the wing and score in transition.

Even Zach Lowe of ESPN praised the Nets for acquiring McDaniels.

"“McDaniels doesn’t play, mostly because of a busted jumper. Some team should take a shot on him at the right price. If there’s a lesson of the last half-decade of NBA trades, it’s this: When there’s a rangy or athletic wing that has even a 10 percent chance of being decent, try to grab that player as a throw-in to a larger deal. Think about how teams landed Crowder, Middleton, Iman Shumpert, Will Barton, and even Tim Hardaway Jr. You cannot have enough versatile wings.”"

McDaniels’ ceiling is somewhere between a consistent role player and starting wing. His shooting and offensive consistency has been his biggest question mark. During his tenure in Philadelphia, he shot at just 39.9 percent from the field. This year for Houston, in 29 games, he shot at 45.6 percent and his career field-goal percentage is about 40 percent. Keep in mind: it’s hard to improve your NBA stats from the D-League.

Next: Grading Sean Marks' Trade Deadline

The Nets have acquired a 24-year-old defensive wing player with tremendous upside for nothing. If McDaniels doesn’t work out, the Nets lose nothing. It’s a win-Win.