Daniels joined the Bucks this offseason after spending the last three campaigns with the Celtics. He gives the Bucks some size in what is an otherwise height-challenged backcourt, but it’s unlikely that he will see regular minutes off the bench.
Daniels had a disastrous year in 2010-11, marred by an odd spinal cord injury that cut his year short. He doesn’t bring much to the fantasy table himself, but he can at least give Boston bench minutes to preserve their stars.
Daniels’ season in Boston last year was a disaster. He missed more than two months with a thumb injury, saw 25-plus minutes only five times all season, and was a DNP-CD for the vast majority of the playoffs. He decided to give it another go in Boston this year, but we don’t see his numbers improving much, barring an injury to starter Paul Pierce.
One of the hardest working sixth men in the league, his contributions to the team tend to come in the form of the intangibles. The former Pacer made some fantasy noise in 2008-09 as a starter, putting up a career high with 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds. He will be hard-pressed to match that with the Celtics. His minutes will return to the mid- to upper-20's, so expect his production to also return to that of his days with the Mavs in 2004-05 and 2005-06. A plus for Daniels, the health and durability of an aging Allen could bump up his minutes and even lead to a few starts in the second half of the season.
Daniels' playing time varied wildly under coach Jim O'Brien, in part due to nagging ankle and hamstring injuries, but also because he fell in and out favor with O'Brien. Daniels can play multiple positions ranging from point guard to small forward when the Pacers go small. The variance in playing time is a problem, though. Barring injuries, it's hard to envision him playing more than 20 minutes per game on a regular basis.
Daniels couldn't have had a more miserable season last year. He missed the preseason with a toenail injury, and then followed that during the season with hamstring and knee injuries, a case of food poisoning, and a case of falling out of favor with coach Rick Carlisle. Off the court, he got arrested for his role in a bar altercation, as did teammate Jamaal Tinsley. Their trial for that charge recently got moved back to Dec. 10, meaning that this will be hanging over their heads during the season. On the court, the sum result for Daniels was that his numbers were down across the board, while playing a career-low 17.8 minutes per game. The coaching change certainly can't hurt, but Daniels is going to have to prove both that he can stay healthy (he's never played more than 62 games in a season) and hit the outside shot. A little recovery can safely be expected, but it's hard to envision him playing more than 25 minutes or scoring more than 10 points per game.
Daniels was the odd man out in Dallas, falling out of favor with coach Avery Johnson and forced to fight for playing time behind Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse. After being traded to Indiana in the offseason, Daniels will be fighting Danny Granger for the starting small forward spot vacated by Peja Stojakovic. Daniels doesn’t put up flashy numbers, but when given the minutes, can help a fantasy team in a lot of categories due to his versatility. At 6-6, he can handle the ball, distribute and has a decent mid-range jumper. If Daniels wins the starting job, he could be worth taking a flyer on in the later rounds of your fantasy draft.
After a strong rookie season that earned him a long-term extension last summer, Daniels struggled to remain healthy enough to contribute as a sophomore. The 6-6 swingman was only able to produce 9.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game behind Michael Finley, Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse. With Finley gone and a summer to return to health, Daniels should once again be on the sleeper radar. Daniels showed in his rookie season what he could do when healthy and given minutes, as evidenced by his 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.73 steals, 51.8% field goad percentage and 84.1% free throw percentage in 15 games started. The swingman position is still logjammed in Dallas, with Doug Christie coming to town to replace the departed Finley, but Daniels has the most upside of the Mavs’ shooting guards.
Daniels got an opportunity to play down the stretch last season, and he made the most of it, showing that he could score and make plays on the floor. He stepped it up even more in the playoffs, averaging 15.8 points and 15.0 field goal attempts per game, and was rewarded with a five-year deal in the offseason as a result. Daniels will have to fight for minutes with Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse this season, but if he gets the time, he has already shown that he can produce.
