Can someone explain to me the allure of KJ McDaniels? He got a lot of playing time in Philadelphia and wasn't exactly amazing. I understand there's talent there, and room to grow and get better, and a lot of athleticism. Is he a SG or SF? Will he learn how to shoot 3's at 35% or better? Can he handle?
Elite athleticism and length for a wing. Pretty much the prototype athlete for the modern day NBA, just needs to develop his shot to get his 3PT% to around 37%.
So basically, the Rockets have to wait until other teams can make KJ an offer (no earlier than the 10th) before they know how much of the MLE it will take to resign KJ? Once that has been determined, the Rockets can then offer Smoove whatever is left of the MLE, correct?
He's basically a super young version of Corey Brewer with potential to be a lot better than that because he's already a better defender and his 3 point shot has potential to be better as well. He's excellent in transition and he has potential to be an elite wing defender. He can play the 2 or 3 or even be in 3 guard sets with someone like Harden running the point. His floor is what we just gave a 3 year 24 million dollar contract to and we'd be getting him for part of the MLE.
You're thinking about the wrong SF. Corey Brewer has always been a score first guy. Trevor Ariza is the guy that was a raw defensive minded athlete when he came into the league as a 2nd rounder. I would consider that a good comparison for him. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee he ever becomes that and he hasn't proven anything in this league yet. If you overpay you may end up with a player that can't crack the rotation on a fat contract.
I'm really not. KJ McDaniels' floor is Corey Brewer, an athletic transition scorer. He's that already and more. His ceiling is a highly athletic Ariza that can score in transition along with being a 3 and D guy.
Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zOiliGsq-ZA?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bf0_iBmTksg?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I don't mean to detract from this thread, but I just want to remind people of what this guy is capable of. I feel like Rockets fans got a terrible impression of him considering his success in Philly.
ok..by using this http://www.basketballinsiders.com/2015-16-team-by-team-salary-summary/ I have narrowed it down to which teams could potentially poison pill Kj. This teams are Celtics (depending on Wallace) Nuggets (Depending on Foye) Pacers ( depending on what happens on Scola) Magic Philadelphia Suns Portland Jazz This is for pp not for just offering mle where we can just match. If they pp we can't match.
Load up quality surplus at one position and use the excess as a trade piece to land a quality player at another position of need. DMo, TJones or Smith (or other signed FA power forward) + Ariza, Brewer, Dekker or KJ For a starting PG or second playmaker or pure shooter or all of the above or two of the above KJ specifically has shown flashes of his potential. Athletic with defense. At MLE, he could be a bargain. He will also be a young player who has shown flashes on a good contract, which is a desired asset right now.
Gill had some really solid years. And I'm not saying KJ can't be a solid solid player. Worthy of whatever contract he gets. I guess the real issue might be there aren't many Quality players you can get for some or all of the MLE like you potentially could in years past. If there's a point guard out there or any guard/creator out there ... That should be a big priority.
even before this video, i was never convinced we needed brewer when this guy pretty much does the exact same thing better defense, more athletic, better transition arguably and just as terrible of a shooter as brew imo
man looking at that list, I don't have a good feeling about being able to keep KJ. A lot of those teams are looking for young high upside talent....chances are one of them makes it too pricey for us imo.
I want to see KJ at the 1 alongside Harden. If he can defend 1's (and I think he can) he could become and electric bookend along with Ariza around Harden. This guy has the size and athleticism to stick with Westbrook and the other big PG names. Sure hope McHale gives him a legit shot there.
Portland and Philly have too much capspace and next year it will get even more. I can't see them NOT trying to pp him. It will be wasted capspace. We will know soon.
I don't like it. Right now KJ's two biggest strengths on offense are rebounding and slashing to the bucket, much like Corey Brewer. If you put him at the 1, on a typical Rockets possession his responsibility is going to be spotting up in the opposite corner from the play. His opportunities to crash the boards will be limited, as he'll have the primary responsibility of getting back on defense first. Additionally, he's going to put a huge amount of pressure on James to handle the ball, since he really can't create anything from a non-advantaged position, and has never shown an ounce of court-vision leading back to his college days. On defense, McDaniels has one exceptional skill, and it's shotblocking. Why you'd want him to be at the point-of-attack on the ball, rather than be lurking on the weakside makes no sense to me. To me, the best possible role for McDaniels is as an elite small-ball 4 who can switch the pick-and-roll with ease. I have a ton more confidence in him as a rotating back-line defender and rebounder than I do in Brewer.
