Published August 18, 2019, 11:20 AM By Jonas Terrado

KJ McDaniels, a former NBA teammate of Terrence Jones, will reinforce TNT KaTropa’s campaign in the PBA Governors’ Cup which starts Sept. 20.

KJ McDaniels, left, guards then-San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard during his NBA stint with the Houston Rockets.

TNT team manager Gabby Cui confirmed Saturday the signing of McDaniels, who played alongside Jones with the Houston Rockets during the 2015-16 NBA season.

McDaniels, 26, also played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets before suiting up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Grand Rapids Drive and Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G-League.

He averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 148 career NBA games.

“We’re very excited to have KJ on our team,” Cui said. “He is an accomplished NBA veteran and we are hopeful that he can lead us to success in the Governors’ Cup.”

The KaTropa are banking on McDaniels to pick up where Jones left off despite losing to the San Miguel Beermen in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

Jones set a new standard for imports with his do-it-all performances, earning him Best Import honors in the midseason tourney.

TNT went 10-1 in the eliminations and made the Finals for the first time since the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup.

“We just have to play a little different, obviously, go back offensively and do some different stuff and just build on our defensive platform that we’ve got,” said TNT consultant Mark Dickel.

McDaniels is set to play for TNT’s campaign in the Asia League Terrific 12 set Sept. 17 to 22 in Macau.

The KaTropa are bracketed in Group D together with China’s Liaoning Flying Leopards and Japan’s Niigata Albirex.

Tags: KJ McDaniels , PBA Governors’ Cup , Terrence Jones , TNT Katropa