The Oklahoma City Thunder have made two intriguing additions to their training camp rosters, giving spots to guard Bryce Alford and forward K.J. McDaniels.
McDaniels has been in the league for five seasons now, playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, and Brooklyn Nets. For his career, McDaniels has averaged 6.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game on 41 percent shooting from the field.
Although he has not become a consistent 3-point threat, shooting a paltry 29 percent from behind the arc for his career, McDaniels is known for providing energy off the bench and being a defensive pest to offensive perimeter players.
Alford has no NBA experience yet but has played plenty of college ball. He spent all four years at UCLA playing under his father Steve Alford and racked up impressive numbers, averaging 13.6 points and 3.8 assists per game, and starting every game for the Bruins since he became a sophomore.
Although Alford went undrafted, he joined the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder's G-League affiliate. He earned his roster invite by knocking down 40.4 percent of his threes and averaging 15.3 points per game.
Both young players round out the Thunder roster, and Alford would be extra helpful as the team is short on guards. Because of Russell Westbrook's arthroscopic knee surgery, he is expected to miss all of the pre-season at least.
That leaves Dennis Schroder and Raymond Felton as the only point guards on the roster, so Alford could stick around while Westbrook is eased back from injury.
McDaniels can provide a lift at small forward as Andre Roberson recovers from an injury of his own. Hopefully, both get a shot to play consistently for the Thunder.
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