2018-19 NBA Season Review
Troy Daniels spent the 2018-19 NBA season with the lowly Phoenix Suns before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Suns, Daniels only averaged 14.9 minutes in 51 games — his lowest in three seasons. Despite him being just 27 years old, the Suns felt they needed to go younger for the most part and finished with a 19-63 record.
In a limited role with the Suns, Daniels struggled to find a rhythm offensively, averaging 6.2 points on 41.1% from the field and 38.1% from the three-point line. Three-point shooting is one of his strong suits, and that is one of the few things he showed consistency in last season.
Daniels has really never been a part of a very good team as he started his career with the Houston Rockets. They won 54 games during the 2013-14 season, but he played in just five games. He then went to the Minnesota Timberwolves for 19 games before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets. He then signed with the Memphis Grizzlies before finally winding up with the Suns and now the Lakers. This means the Lakers will already be his sixth team in seven seasons.
2019-20 NBA Season Outlook
Sadly, Daniels is a shooting guard on a team that is absolutely loaded with them. Danny Green, Avery Bradley, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope figure to take most — if not all — of the minutes at that position. This means that Daniels is unlikely to see consistent minutes and may be one of the first cut if the Lakers need to make a roster move.
Despite that, Daniel’s three-point shooting may be of use for the Lakers if they do decide to give him some minutes. The Lakers do not have a ton of consistent three-point options after Green and Caldwell-Pope, so if they are in a slump at any point of the season, that could be his calling card.
Daniels was the first addition, signing him to a one-year, $2.1 million deal before Kawhi Leonard‘s decision. This means the final vision of the roster was formed after and unfortunately, this sort of left him in the dust.
If Daniels can figure out a way to prove he belongs on a championship team and get some minutes, it would be a great chapter in a story that has been full of ups and downs.
