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QUOTABLE ... “He’s a very efficient player who will add veteran leadership and depth to our backcourt.” - Sonics general manager Rick Sund

Position: Guard
Height: 6-4
Weight: 205

2002-03 Stats (with Portland)
G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%
67	13.0	3.7	1.1	1.3	.452	.855	.305

Role:
Third guard. Antonio Daniels will back up both guard positions. Over his two full years as Sonics head coach, Nate McMillan has established a system that rotates his three guards in a consistent manner. Daniels will team with both Ray Allen and Brent Barry while the other player is not on the court. He should also see occasional action at small forward when McMillan goes small.

Outlook:
Stuck as a fourth or fifth guard with the Portland Trail Blazers last season, Daniels should nearly double his 13 minutes per game from last season. While he is not a starter, he will play plenty of minutes and his performance is important to the Sonics fortunes. After his year in Portland, it’s easy to forget how important Daniels was for the San Antonio Spurs before he was traded last summer. Daniels filled essentially the same role he will in Seattle for the Spurs, averaging 26 minutes per game during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons and scoring at least nine points per game both years. He should return to that level of performance this year.

The most valuable thing Daniels brings to the Sonics is his defensive ability. Though just 6-4, Daniels has good length and is very athletic. Like McMillan, he is capable of defending any of the perimeter positions. He will be particularly useful against the small, quick guards that give Barry trouble. Daniels can also help out against bigger players, and may get the responsibility for shutting down players who have gotten hot.

Offensively, Daniels is an efficient player, though this is not obvious from his shooting percentages. In large part, this is because he gets to the free-throw line often – more than once per game last year, despite the limited playing time. Daniels doesn’t create a lot of assists, but he does a good job of avoiding turnovers, something the Sonics value highly. His assist/turnover ratio was a solid 2.65 last season.