Philadelphia 76ers Should Pursue K.J. McDaniels In Free Agency

For reasons that still aren’t the most understandable or convincing, the Philadelphia 76ers parted ways with dynamic rookie swingman K.J. McDaniels just prior to the NBA’s trade deadline.

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The most logical justification for shipping McDaniels to Houston in exchange for a second-round pick and point guard Isaiah Canaan can be credited to a considerable scarcity of floor generals after Philly dealt Michael Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks for a future first-round pick. McDaniels has now spent the post-All-Star break portion with the Rockets, where he’s primarily watched from the sidelines.

Philly has a front office with plenty of cash to spend in the offseason and with a lack of more appealing options at their disposal, the Sixers would be wise to go after the rookie that used to bring the Wells Fargo Center crowd to its feet nightly with breathtaking dunks and highlight rejections.

Before he became a member of the Rockets by way of 76ers’ general manager Sam Hinkie’s asset-crazed scheme of building a championship team, McDaniels was exhibiting all the signs of a tremendous future in the NBA. In 52 games with the Sixers, McDaniels averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, which was good enough to highlight McDaniels as the second-most tenacious rookie shot-blocker, behind only Nerlens Noel.

He was seeing plenty of time on the hardwood at 25.4 minutes per contest for the Sixers, and understandably so as the revamped roster in Philadelphia was void of much notable talent, as McDaniels was arguably already the third or fourth best player on the team.

Life in Houston hasn’t been as rewarding, though. McDaniels has only seen the court in eight of the Rockets 24 games upon his arrival, which includes only playing in one of Houston’s last eight outings for a mere two minutes.

As you could expect, his production has taken a dramatic dip across the board, as well, with McDaniels’ averages in Houston being only 0.3 points on .167 percent shooting from the field, 0.3 rebounds without a single block to his record in the eight contests he actually played in.

Of course, you have to find minutes to be able to provide any production and McDaniels has seen a whopping 18 minutes of game time combined, which indicated the Rockets don’t have much use for McDaniels; not right now, at least.

This is where the 76ers can and should come into play and rekindle the match that was tremendously beneficial to both, the rebuilding Sixers and the rookie McDaniels, who was looking to prove himself quickly on a one-year deal.

Yes, there will bigger fish in the free agency sea, such as San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Golden State’s Draymond Green.

But just as noted by Zachary Arthur of Bleacher Report, each of these coveted players would be an unrealistic target for the Sixers and with the future in mind, steering away from offering a max contract for the benefit of being able extend the same heavy chunk of change to guys like Noel, Joel Embiid and whomever they land with their lottery pick in the upcoming draft is an option Hinkie will likely keep open.

If the 76ers pursue McDaniels in free agency, just as they should, the expenses would be drastically reduced in comparison to someone like Leonard or Butler, and considering the rebuild in Philly may continue for at least another season, having yet another high-upside body on the roster would be a low-risk, high-reward circumstance.

All the while, Philly would still be getting a quality option on the perimeter whom has already proven he can provide when given the opportunity and has a face the fans have already grown accustomed to.

Jan 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard K.J. McDaniels (14) misses a dunk after he was fouled during the fourth quarter of the game against the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers beat the Pistons 89-69. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Not only is going after McDaniels in free agency something that the Sixers should do, but it’s a task Hinkie likely already has on his to-do list and may have had planned at the very moment he exchanged McDaniels for Canaan.

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