The Nik Stauskas Thread

[Fred Williamson]

He looks like a high school kid. There's no way he won't be bullied around in the league.

[MasterIchiro]

To use contrast, I think Nik Stauskas will be the shooting guard version of Chandler Parsons in the NBA. I like his skill sets and believe he'll make for a very productive player in the league. My only concern is can he be as productive of a player off the ball for Charlotte with a lesser usage as he was as a de facto point guard in his sophomore season at Michigan. I understand that he's great in catch-and-shoot situations, but does not having the ball in his hands as much as the primary ball handler take away from his assertiveness

As a fan of Trey Burke, I watched a lot of Michigan games during Stauskas' freshman year, and only occasionally during Stauskas' sophomore year after Burke's departure

His freshman season he was still very good percentages wise. If you give the kid shots he makes them. If you put it in his hands he can even get the ball to others in the right spots. The more I dig into this kid the more his numbers really separate him. He has everything you want in a shooting guard. His defense needs work but he has the athletic ability to be able to defend and we have a coach that can teach it.

I think he would be great playing off Kemba drives and Al double teams. Also he can run the pick and roll with McRoberts and get some great chances for both of them.

Stauskas seems like the perfect fit for us given our current roster, plus he's not a reach at #9.

Everybody else would benefit from having this kid on the floor. Teams would be punished for doubling Al. We'd have another ball handler to take some pressure off of Kemba. Things will open up for MKG to drive, plus having more scoring punch out there will allow him to play more minutes. And McRoberts will have somebody dependable to whip crafty passes to for the 3.

One trouble our offense has had is that we'll do the right things to get somebody an open shot, but then they turn it down because they're not a good enough shooter, which then ultimately leads to somebody taking a bad shot when the clock runs down (usually Kemba).

Stauskas would hopefully fix that.

He's the only player in the draft you can say this about. Kemba and MKG can really grow with this kid over the years.

[MasterIchiro]

He's the best offensive talent in the whole draft. Not only is his shooting/passing combination very rare, but he's one of the best at attacking the basket for perimeter players in the class. He could be as good at driving as Manu Ginobili is. Plays like :20 and 2:15 in the "Nik Stauskas torches Iowa" video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBRnDM_a_TU are that rare, players don't just get into the paint past traffic that easily like they're guys lie Harden and Wade. A lot of successful drives in college the defender is staying in front of them but funneling them, or it's off an open lane from an overeager closeout. At :20 he drives through an entire defense in position without a pick. I'm convinced he will be a plus NBA slasher at the next level, the only possible concern is he's not that strong (which is the biggest reason Jamal Crawford never put it together more driving despite his handles and athleticism), but his frame looks like it can add weight

IMO the way the NBA is rating Jabari Parker who is considered the best offensive prospect and Nik Stauskas is because they are slow to adapt. Jabari is a 1985 20ppg SF in 2014. The problem is in the modern NBA you don't want a SF who hangs around at 15-20 feet posting up. First, it leads to inefficient shots, Jabari's fancy post fadeaways won't be valued if they go in 35% of the time. Secondly, a SF hanging around the midrange area is bad for spacing in today's NBA. Third, it probably leads to the ball stopping. Finally, with all the salivating about a player like Jabari "creating his own shot" from 15-20 Carmelo style, one of the problems with this is midrange shots barely need to be created anymore because teams are leaving them open. As a Raptors fan I can say while Derozan is one of the highest usage midrange scorers in the league, he's barely doing any work "creating" those shots. They're open and he takes them, or he's pretty good at making a dribble or two to set it up, but it's not like he needs an advanced "shot creation" skillset to do it. There's plenty of players who can "create" midrange shots nowadays just by dribbling into it. Shabazz Napier's skillset may be as midrange volume friendly as Jabari's, just by dribbling into the paint and pulling up however many times he wants.

Anyways, the start of the "who the best offensive prospect is" convo should start with how good a player is at driving to the rim, taking 3s, or creating for others, before finally considering the midrange. That's why I think the media considering Jabari the best offensive prospect in the draft is getting it all wrong because it's unclear whether he'll be great at any of driving to the basket, hitting 3s, or passing. But I think Stauskas combination of those 3 things is the best in the draft unless Exum starts bombing 3s or something or Zach Lavine becomes insane

I'm starting to come around to this idea. Thanks for taking the time to post this here.

[MasterIchiro]

2:15 is insane. He basically deeks the entire defense, all 5 guys. Then afterwards when you read his lips he says "And1... And1".

Goddang.

[MasterIchiro]

He looks like a high school kid. There's no way he won't be bullied around in the league.

[chabber]

I'd imagine against a really good defense in the NBA the help in the paint would have been there faster and bigger on that play at 2:15. He'd have had to go up around it or shoot a floater. Still from this and the rest of the videos I don't see any reason why he couldn't adjust. He's definitely got some athleticism and I believe he could develop the floater pretty easily if he hasn't already. I guess we don't know if he's strong enough to finish through NBA talent yet, but we know he's worked hard to improve his body and that should continue. How adept is he at drawing FT's on his drives? Anyone got the numbers?

[MasterIchiro]

I'd imagine against a really good defense in the NBA the help in the paint would have been there faster and bigger on that play at 2:15. He'd have had to go up around it or shoot a floater. Still from this and the rest of the videos I don't see any reason why he couldn't adjust. He's definitely got some athleticism and I believe he could develop the floater pretty easily if he hasn't already. I guess we don't know if he's strong enough to finish through NBA talent yet, but we know he's worked hard to improve his body and that should continue. How adept is he at drawing FT's on his drives? Anyone got the numbers?

Someone else will give you those FT numbers but I do know offhand he got to the line 11 times vs. UK in the NCAA Elite 8. And he has the potential to shoot 85-90% from the FT line.

[JDR720]

Nik shot 5.7FTs per game last season

[TheKingofSting2]

I am starting to warm up to the idea of taking him, is Klay Thompson a fair comparison for him? They are about the same size.

[JDR720]

I am starting to warm up to the idea of taking him, is Klay Thompson a fair comparison for him? They are about the same size.

yea they are basically the same player but Klay is the better defender while Nik is the better passer

[TheKingofSting2]

I am starting to warm up to the idea of taking him, is Klay Thompson a fair comparison for him? They are about the same size.

yea they are basically the same player but Klay is the better defender while Nik is the better passer

That is definitely worth the 9th IMO. As long as no big names fall or we don't trade up then this is our guy.

[BeesWax]

I am starting to warm up to the idea of taking him, is Klay Thompson a fair comparison for him? They are about the same size.

yea they are basically the same player but Klay is the better defender while Nik is the better passer

Klay has developed as a defender.

From draft express:
Thompson's effort level on the defensive end has improved during his time in college, and he shows solid awareness and makes good rotations off the ball, but his lack of quickness is certainly something that can be exploited. His problems can be hid somewhat on good defensive teams, and his apparent effort level and capacity for playing good team defense will certainly be useful, though he'd have a lot of work to do to even become an average NBA defender overall.

I think Nik can be on this level too because both are smart players and will work hard within the team concept.

[MasterIchiro]

I am starting to warm up to the idea of taking him, is Klay Thompson a fair comparison for him? They are about the same size.

yea they are basically the same player but Klay is the better defender while Nik is the better passer

That is definitely worth the 9th IMO. As long as no big names fall or we don't trade up then this is our guy.

I would say they are the same shooter, same frame/body, physicality. Nik is the better passer AND better ballhandler. Klay is the better defender.

Nik is a fantastic grab at 9.

[amcoolio]

I watched all the videos in this thread, and its hard not to be sold on him. I change my mind back and forth all the time, haha.

I just think we realllllly need elite offense to compete at the top in the East. Clifford is obviously a defensive genius if he was able to take last season's last-ranked squad, add Al Jefferson, and finish near the top.

For that reason I don't think we should be looking at defense at the 9 pick. With his size and release Stauskas should have no problem scoring at will when Jefferson commands a double team.

[MasterIchiro]

I watched all the videos in this thread, and its hard not to be sold on him. I change my mind back and forth all the time, haha.

I just think we realllllly need elite offense to compete at the top in the East. Clifford is obviously a defensive genius if he was able to take last season's last-ranked squad, add Al Jefferson, and finish near the top.

For that reason I don't think we should be looking at defense at the 9 pick. With his size and release Stauskas should have no problem scoring at will when Jefferson commands a double team.

He comes off screens really well, and because of his high BBIQ he moves well without the ball. I think he'd learn Alfense really quickly. And both he and Al are good passers off the pick and roll.

With the double teams Al commands, I've witnessed McRoberts have enough time to parallel park when he hits his threes. All we really need in Alfense is a spot up shooter to be successful.

Stauskas is so so much more than that because he can dribble like a mad man.

He's the only pick whose a lights out shooter for Al, a second ball handler for Kemba and a passer for the whole team.

He should definitely be the pick.

[Tarheel11981]

I agree! Stauskas makes the most sense for this team.

[TheKingofSting2]

I watched all the videos in this thread, and its hard not to be sold on him. I change my mind back and forth all the time, haha.

I just think we realllllly need elite offense to compete at the top in the East. Clifford is obviously a defensive genius if he was able to take last season's last-ranked squad, add Al Jefferson, and finish near the top.

For that reason I don't think we should be looking at defense at the 9 pick. With his size and release Stauskas should have no problem scoring at will when Jefferson commands a double team.

Aside from the fact that he will be playing beside MKG if Coach Cliff and company can hide Jefferson on defense then I don't think coming up with a plan to keep Stauskas on the court should be much of a problem.

[catch20two]

I agree that Stauskas probably make the most sense and I wouldn't mind the pick but my gut feeling tell me that Young will become the better player as a all star caliber type so I'll stick with Young as my favorite target since that's what my instincts are telling me. But I've been wrong before, not often, but about 30% of the time.

[MasterIchiro]

I agree that Stauskas probably make the most sense and I wouldn't mind the pick but my gut feeling tell me that Young will become the better player as a all star caliber type so I'll stick with Young as my favorite target since that's what my instincts are telling me. But I've been wrong before, not often, but about 30% of the time.

I feel the same way about Young. My guy is Stauskas and I'm sticking to him but I wouldn't mind Young at all. I trust our front office to make the right decision. They turned around a terrible franchise it seems in one year so their confidence must be high and they must be going at this pick with reckless abandon.

[ARHornet]

The more I watch Stauskas the more I'm convinced he's our best option at 9. He's gonna be a special player in this league and is a perfect fit for us.