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Los Angeles Lakers: K.J. McDaniels A Great Young Addition

By Chris Walton

Dec 1, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard K.J. McDaniels (14) in a game against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Spurs defeated the 76ers 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard K.J. McDaniels (14) in a game against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Spurs defeated the 76ers 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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What’s better than bunching young talent together and watching them figure it all out? How about the success like we saw with the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder, or the current run with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers could very well be in the initial process of building youth continuity and prepping a core ready to overcome obstacles that are sure to come their way. When your best players are in years one or two, this is bound to happen.

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After the Lakers make the second , 27th and 34th overall picks, the team is sure to have their share of neophytes. To follow up, the team will be entering a free agent market with their choice of other talents.

So often, the Lakers go for the big fish in the pond (Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Ron Artest), but they’ve also proven they’re not afraid to take risks on lesser-named prospects. Nick Young and Xavier Henry were two of the most recent players they’ve found in the scrum.

Going into next year, a restricted free agent that they should look to pry away is K.J. McDaniels.

The great athletic two-way guards/small forwards will likely remain with their respective squads. The Chicago Bulls are likely to match Jimmy Butler. Kawhi Leonard will take the San Antonio Spurs’ money and hustle to the bank.

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Now the story with K.J. McDaniels is a little different. Last season, the Houston Rockets acquired McDaniels in a trade where he went from getting major minutes with the rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers (25.4 minutes) to the contending Houston Rockets (3.3 minutes). With Trevor Ariza manning the spot at the 3, do they really match a sizable deal for McDaniels?

The Lakers could definitely force Houston’s hand with this move.

The Lakers are searching for some sort of defensive identity, and the only way they can do so is outside of their roster. What makes McDaniels an interesting pick for the team is his attributes size up well for their lack of depth at small forward. Athletically, he’s in the class of the league’s best. He combines an impressive wingspan (6’11″) with the ability to get up off the floor quickly.

This does wonders for him defensively, especially, where he posted 2.8 blocks per game in his last season at Clemson University. Those intangibles translated into the NBA, averaging 2.1 blocks per 40 minutes a game.

McDaniels is not afraid to get in the paint and help the team rebound. He has a knack for following up misses, grabbing boards or ferociously putting back dunks. Not many young wings offer the hustle and effort that McDaniels can.

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    • McDaniels also shows great anticipation, getting into passing lanes and disrupting team’s ball movement. When he isn’t there, he is always one of the first players to get out on the wing on fast breaks. His ability to do so helps teams get easy buckets in transition.

    Combining McDaniels’ skill set to the Lakers roster offers a chance to develop him into a viable wing on both ends. Defensively, he seems sound, but the shooting has to catch up with that. He ended his season shooting 29.3 percent from three-point range, and 39.9 percent from the field.

    This is definitely a chance that the Lakers have to take this offseason. McDaniels will likely not be a high priority on the Rockets’ list, and the Lakers sorely need a small forward. Laker fans would love the exciting plays that McDaniels is known to make, and the team could definitely feed off of it. Now it’s only a matter of interest that they take in his availability.

    They will surely look at all options.

    Next: Our Latest NBA Mock Draft

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