FILE––NLEX import KJ McDaniels. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—NLEX will say goodbye to KJ McDaniels with the high-scoring forward set to go back home in the United States to be with his wife who is about to give birth.
A strong contender for the Best Import award, McDaniels will play his final game of the conference on Friday against Barangay Ginebra in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup.
“In fairness to K.J., he already told us about his situation as early as last year, saying his wife expects a baby by March. We didn’t know that the tournament will be stretched until April because of the suspension of the games,” said head coach and general manager Yeng Guiao in ArangkadaNLEX.com.
“He could’ve had a big chance to win the Best Import award and at the same time we like our chances of making a deep run with him as reinforcement in the playoffs, or hopefully, make our first ever finals appearance. But we have to deal with it.”
Welcome On Board, Cameron Clark, new import of the NLEX Road Warriors. #ArangkadaNLEX pic.twitter.com/nKaDlQTlMa
— NLEX Road Warriors (@ArangkadaNLEX) March 3, 2022
McDaniels is the overall top scorer in the conference with 30.8 points a game while also averaging 11.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and a league-leading 2.8 blocks.
Taking McDaniels’ place at NLEX is EuroLeague veteran Cameron Clark, whose mother team Oldenburg plays in Germany’s Bundesliga Basketball League.
The 6-foot-6 forward will arrive on Friday, the same day McDaniels will play his final game for the Road Warriors.