Portland Trail Blazers: 3 reasons signing Nik Stauskas was a bad move

2. Other players available

It was interesting at how fast the Blazers decided to add Stauskas to the roster instead of waiting to see how the free agency market looked after a few days. He has not had a great NBA career and was most likely not a guy high on teams’ lists.

The Blazers probably could have waited a couple of days to see if they could have added a better player and if not, then added Stauskas. They also only gave him a minimum contract for one year, so obviously he did not have any better offer from another team.

This move came as a surprise after the Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in an interview with ESPN that this team needed to start being built for the playoffs.

"“We realize we need to kind of view our future this summer through the lens of how are we going to be more impactful and play at a higher level come playoff time next year.”"

Stauskas has not played in a playoff game and has not even shown to be an impactful player either. Here are some other players who were available at the time and signed for a deal with another team that the Blazers could have offered:

1. Lance Stephenson — A combo guard who signed a one-year, $4.9 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
2. Treveon Graham — A wing who signed a two-year, $3.9 million contract with the Nets.
3. Mike Scott — A forward who signed a one-year, $4.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.
4. Vince Carter — A veteran wing that signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Hawks.
5. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute — A 3-and-D wing who signed a one-year, $4.3 million deal with the Clippers.
6. Arron Afflalo — A wing who is still currently unsigned.