Sixers draft: Worst Sam Hinkie picks — K.J. McDaniels
Drafted with the 32nd overall pick in the draft, K.J. McDaniels looked like he may be one of the “diamonds in the rough” Hinkie was after in the early years of starting “The Process” in Philadelphia.
He was not.
McDaniels was one of the first players that was offered a “Hinkie special” contract, something he would become famous for during his time as general manager. Hinkie grew to like stockpiling second round picks because of the advantage they provided the team. Contracts for second round draftees didn’t need to be guaranteed, and the team could offer an extremely low salary while retaining the player’s draft rights.
It was a major power play by Hinkie. The non-guaranteed nature of the contracts put the onus on the player to perform and prove themselves, which allowed the Sixers to take more risks on these second-round picks.
The reward potential was great. The risk profile was relatively low.
Over time, the tendency to sign players to these kinds of deals pushed prospects and agents from wanting to work with Philadelphia, often refusing workouts with the team to dissuade them from drafting them.
McDaniels and his agent were some of the first to publicly stand up against the nature of these “prove-it” deals, as he skipped day one of training camp in protest.
Eventually, the team would come to a more agreeable deal with McDaniels.
Per 36 minutes in his rookie season, McDaniels wasn’t bad. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He was solid on the defensive end for Philadelphia, but the team traded him to the Houston Rockets for Isiah Canaan and, you guessed it, a second-round pick.
This wasn’t a devastating pick for the Sixers because they came out net-positive, but it only furthered the revolving door of second-rounders for Hinkie and the team during the process era. That might have been acceptable at the time, but it kept the team pitted in a place of mediocrity for an era.
And as for the pick itself. McDaniels hasn’t played in the league since the 2016-17 season. When Philly selected him in the second round, Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Nikola Jokic, and Jordan Clarkson were all still available.