When the Sacramento Kings drafted shooting guard Nik Stauskas with the eighth pick in the 2014 NBA draft, many analysts and fans scratched their heads.
Why? Well, the Kings drafted shooting guard Ben McLemore just one year earlier, and the Kings had more pressing needs to tend to besides the two guard spot.
Nevertheless, Sacramento chose Stauskas and figured he could come in and be an immediate upgrade at the position with his unlimited range and knack for scoring the basketball. Defense would always be a question mark, but as long as he could hit shots, there wouldn’t be anyone complaining with his performance in his rookie season.
Now halfway through the year, many are questioning whether Stauskas will ever bloom into a starting-caliber shooting guard in the league.
Stauskas hasn’t seen the court much in his first stint with an NBA team, averaging just 14.1 minutes on the court each night. In his limited time, he has scored 3.6 points per game on a measly 33.1 percent shooting, including a repulsive 27.2 percent from beyond the arc.
These numbers are significant at because Stauskas was supposed to be a premier perimeter jump shooter coming out of college, and that has been anything but the case so far in his professional career.
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From the start at the University of Michigan, others could tell that Stauskas had the potential to be a special scorer at the next level because of his intelligence and understanding of how to play the game. Stauskas could read the defense no matter where he was on the floor and seemed to be able to predict his opponent’s every move.
It didn’t matter how the defense was rotating or whether one of his teammates was coming to set a pick or not, Stauskas seemed to be able to navigate his way around the defense and either create separation or draw a foul in the lane.
Is Stauskas a crazy athlete? He has some hops, but he isn’t exactly anything to write home about. Are his handles better than a lot of other shooting guards? The answer is once again no, as he is above average in that area but he doesn’t exactly have a go-to dribble move that can shake defenders left and right like some other guards have.
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He may not be exceptional in a lot of areas that guards usually are in terms of being elusive and avoiding defensive pressure, but believe it or not, that was what pleased scouts about his development and overall promise as a scorer. Nothing mattered to Stauskas when it came to being guarded.
He would go about his business and still find a way to score because of how fast he could process the game and react to what was being thrown at him. His anticipation in college was on another level, which was a big reason why he averaged 17.5 points per game on 47.0 percent shooting from the field including a blistering 44.2 percent from three in his sophomore campaign.
At 6’6″, Stauskas was viewed as a guard that was big and smart enough to handle how to play the position well enough at the next level. The Kings saw the same potential, and used their lottery pick to bring him in hoping that he would challenge McLemore and give Sacramento much needed floor spacing and outside shooting so DeMarcus Cousins would have more room to do his thing inside.
Well, at least for now that plan backfired, and the Kings seem to be looking to cut their losses.
According to a report from CBSSports’ Ken Berger, the Kings are willing to move Stauskas in a deal that could help bolster their frontcourt rotation.
I know the Kings could certainly use more help at the power forward position right now than at shooting guard, but I am astounded that such a deal is being explored at this point.
Stauskas may be struggling, but he should not have this much pressure on him to perform at such a high level so early in his career. Yes, many had hoped that he could adapt to the NBA game much quicker because of his intelligence, but the NBA is a different animal than the college or high school game.
Players are bigger and faster, and the game is played at a completely different pace than Stauskas has ever experienced. Generally, it takes players time to figure things out and get accustomed to the speed of the game and how to operate as a professional both on and off the court.
It’s not like Stauskas has any limitations that will prevent him from improving his game. He’s a hard worker and has a great attitude in terms of playing team basketball, two things that are regarded highly in younger talents.
There’s no reason why the Kings should be giving up on Stauskas. He has plenty of time to figure things out, and could really end up turning some heads down the road because of his ability to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor.
Shooters are being valued more than ever before in the league, and Stauskas can shoot with the best of them when he’s on.
Give him some time, and he will prove his doubters wrong on all accounts. Keep him on the bench Sacramento, or you may just regret moving him one day.
*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.