Philadelphia 76ers: Whatever happened to Process great K.J. McDaniels?

Once considered a true diamond in the rough and a Process legend, whatever happened to Philadelphia 76ers great K.J. McDaniels?

For the Philadelphia 76ers fans who’ve stuck around throughout the doldrums of The Process, the name K.J. McDaniels will likely bring up some fond memories.

Originally the 32nd overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, McDaniels came to Philly by way of Clemson University, where the former Tiger made a name for himself as one of the best wing defending upperclassman in all of college basketball, and quickly found success at the professional level.

Though he lacked the sophisticated shot of many of his peers, McDaniels quickly found a place in recently hired head coach Brett Brown‘s rotation by doing the dirty work on both ends of the court. In roughly 25 minutes of action a night, McDaniels averaged a respectable 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game as a defensive foil for aging shooting guard Jason Richardson.

But unfortunately for everyone involved, some things just aren’t meant to last forever.

At the 2015 NBA trade deadline, then-GM Sam Hinkie decided to ship McDaniels off to the Houston Rockets in exchange for diminutive shooting guard Isaiah Canaan and a 2015 second round pick, and from there, things started to spiral out for the young winger.

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Now a member of a playoff team, McDaniels quickly acquainted himself with the Rockets bench, as he averaged only 3.3 minutes per game firmly entrenched behind All-NBA superstar James Harden.

This trade was not a particularly popular one in the City of Brotherly Love, as many fans were head over heels for their new, hard-nosed shooting guard, but unfortunately, the team’s hands were tied.

Instead of signing the typical, multi-year rookie contract normally offered to second round picks, McDaniels instead chose to bet on himself and sign a risky one year deal that would allow him to enter free agency after only one season in Philadelphia, a very unorthodox strategy.

While this strategy did potentially set the former Tiger up for a more immediate payday, one likely worth much more than the typical rookie contract, it also could have forced the second round pick out of the league entirely if he didn’t play up to a big money contract.

And unfortunately for McDaniels, that’s more or less what happened.

Though McDaniels did sign a three-year, $10 million deal to remain with the Rockets following the 2014-2015 season, he only started one game for the team over his tenure in Houston and was ultimately traded to the Brooklyn Nets for cash in 2017.

Ouch.

While McDaniels did finish out the 2016-2017 season with the Nets, averaging a respectable 14.7 minutes per game, it wasn’t enough to secure another long-term contract for the former Process great, and he found himself a free agent for the first time in his young NBA career.

The 24-year-old did eventually sign a non-guaranteed contract with the Toronto Raptors but was ultimately waived before the current NBA season began.

Now a member of the Grand Rapids Drive, McDaniels’ return to the NBA is far from a guarantee.

While he did find near-immediate success with the team that drafted him, McDaniels’ lack of a reliable outside shot, when coupled with his risky one year contract almost guaranteed that he wouldn’t be back with the team for year two, and would be forced to try to latch on with another program.

Had McDaniels remained a 76ers, he more than likely wouldn’t be starting for the team now, as he simply isn’t as good of a player as Robert Covington or J.J. Redick, but he could very well still be a solid contributor as an athletic slasher off the bench, much like current 76er Justin Anderson, a player who, for all intensive purposes, has filled the role McDaniels likely would have played had he remained with the team.

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If McDaniels can reemerge as a legitimate player after his current stint in the G-League it will go a long way to awarding him another chance to play in the NBA but, if not, the 32rd overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft will forever be one of the more curious cases of The Process era.