Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guard Antonio Daniels. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Antonio is an outstanding addition to our team,” Grunfeld said. “He is a proven winner with championship experience. He gives us great versatility at the guard position. He has excellent ball-handling skills, is a very solid defender and a great competitor.”
Last season, Daniels scored a career-best 11.2 points per game while averaging 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for the Seattle Sonics . He averaged 13.8 points and 4.5 assists per game in 11 playoff games last season, including 17.8 points and 3.0 assists per game in six games against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.
He joins the Wizards after spending the past two seasons with Seattle, where he averaged 9.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. Daniels ranked second in the NBA in assists per turnover (3.96) last season in helping the Sonics win the Northwest Division and secure the third seed in the 2005 Western Conference Playoffs. One season earlier, Daniels led the NBA in assists per turnover with almost five assists for every one turnover.
“Antonio is a tremendous competitor who brings veteran leadership and significant postseason experience to our team,” Head Coach Eddie Jordan said. “He is a very athletic guard who will be an asset for us on both ends of the court.”
In his eight-year NBA career, Daniels is averaging 7.8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game. Daniels has participated in 59 postseason games, averaging 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per game for Seattle, Portland and San Antonio, where he won an NBA World Championship in 1999.
In Washington, Daniels will participate in a ticket-incentive program called “Antonio’s Entourage” in which he will purchase a section of seats for Washington-area youth to attend Wizards games this season.
