The Nik Stauskas Thread

[MasterIchiro]

That right there is SA Spurs material.

Spurs material had the worst net rating out of all of our wings not named Jeffery Taylor



What good is Spurs material without a Popovich? Popovich is the king of flexibility while Clifford is the peasant of it

If you listen to Clifford, specifically his interview after the Stauskas workout where he mentions size, he's very high on Neal.

[MasterIchiro]

And Stauskas is starter material on the Spurs. Big difference. Pop would kill to have him.

[mrknowitall215]

If you listen to Clifford, specifically his interview after the Stauskas workout where he mentions size, he's very high on Neal.

I know, and that's unfortunate, because I'd rather give CDR minutes at SG than Neal

[mrknowitall215]

2014 Hornets Draft Profile: Nik Stauskas



Following to the close to an extremely entertaining and historic 2013-14 campaign for Charlotte, the team’s luck continued to remain in tact as they transitioned towards the off season. Despite being in the middle of the playoff picture, Charlotte still has an extremely solid lottery pick (9th overall) to continue to help with their climb up the Eastern Conference ladder.

During the build-up to the aforementioned NBA Draft, the other crew at Queen City Hoops have done an amazing job in terms of bringing a unique perspective towards the potential fit that the draft prospects could have with the Hornets organization. With that in mind, I’m going to take a more in-depth viewpoint at these prospects to examine their overall skills and possible fit with Charlotte.

Despite Charlotte’s shocking climb up the Eastern Conference standings during the 2013-14 season, a lingering concern that surrounded the Hornets pertained with their need for a consistent 3rd scoring option. While the duo of Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson helped lead Charlotte to that aforementioned push to the playoffs, their offense still had their moments where they were extremely stagnant when either Kemba or Big Al was off the court. While Gerald Henderson definitely was able to showcase his ability to be a pretty solid mid-range shooter while also being able to penetrate to the rim, he really never was able to be that consistent and reliable offensive weapon for Steve Clifford and the Charlotte Hornets.

By being in possession of that 9th overall pick, Charlotte will have the golden opportunity to draft the prospect that could help shore up the team’s offense. One of the more appealing possible prospects that could help shore up that hole might be Michigan shooting guard Nik Stauskas. Standing at 6’5, Stauskas was able to define himself as one of the more well-rounded offensive guards in college basketball.

Stauskas’ main source of attack on the offensive end would be his extremely reliable and dangerous perimeter jumper. Among the other eligible prospects for this year’s draft, Stauskas sits at the top of the heap by shooting an unbelievable 45% from beyond the arc.

By working alongside Wolverines forward Mitch McGary, the 6’5 guard showcased himself as one of the better PnR guards in college basketball. One of the main reasons behind that is because Stauskas has the ability to work around the screen, stop on a dime and nail an open perimeter jumper. That consistency is clearly showcased by the simple fact that Stauskas shot .9 PPP (points per possession) when he’s working in off-the-dribble situations.

While Stauskas’ main offensive strength relies on his ability as a perimeter threat, the 6’5 guard has definitely made his impact as a slasher. During his two-year stint at Michigan, Stauskas has definitely improved as an all-around which is clearly showcased by his work in the PnR and ability to penetrate to the rim and get to the free throw line. On a per 40 minute basis, Stauskas was able to get to the free-throw line around 6.5 times which was a huge improvement over his freshman season.

As Stauskas ultimately makes that transition from college to the NBA, he’s going to be an extremely lethal scoring option if he plays alongside a solid, offensive-minded front-court player that could work in the pick and roll. Besides his superb ability as perimeter scorer, the 6’5 guard has also been able to showcase his skills as a distributor. Based around his aforementioned skills in the PnR, Stauskas is able to penetrate from the perimeter and kick it out to an open teammate. Despite his relatively young age, Stauskas is extremely solid in terms of making a simple play as a distributor. His unselfish nature has helped push Stauskas to having an extremely solid 1.71 Ast/TO ratio.

Even though Stauskas’ ability on the offensive end has elevated him to being a viable lottery option,`his performance on the other end is still extremely uncertain. While he’s been able to showcase his underrated athleticism on offense, the Michigan guard struggles to stay in front of his opponent on the defensive end. Perhaps it’s due to the combination of lateral quickness and strength, but the 6’5 guard has had continuous issues when it comes to defending the perimeter.

In addition to Stauskas’ perimeter defending issues, his overall effort on that end of the court could occasionally be lackluster. For example, when the 6’5 guard is working off-ball, he’s been to known to ball watch or completely completely lose track of the opposition.

With his defensive issues in mind, Nik Stauskas could be one of the best fits for Charlotte’s 9th overall pick. As previously mentioned, the 6’5 Michigan guard excels because of his perimeter ability and standout work in the pick and roll. As the Hornets are in continuous pursuit for that vaunted 3rd scoring option and perimeter threat, Stauskas could immediately fill into that role.

Another potentially solid possibility surrounding Charlotte drafting Stauskas would be his pairing with Al Jefferson. The 6’5 guards main offensive strengths (perimeter skills, mastery in the pick and roll and work as a distributor) could be the absolute perfect fit alongside the 6’11 Jefferson. By pairing up with Stauskas, Big Al could finally be able to pair up in the pick and roll with a stable perimeter threat who could also work as a distributor. With that in mind, Jefferson could also be a huge asset to Stauskas by being the perfect front-court partner that could help him with his perimeter shooting and penetration.

One of the biggest flaws that NBA teams could have about Stauskas pertains to his defensive issues. A move to Charlotte might be the best overall fit because of Steve Clifford’s defensive scheme. Besides the addition of Jefferson, Charlotte really didn’t change between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, but were still able to improve from being one of the worst (29th in the league in Opp PPG in 12-13) to one of the best (4th in OPPG in ’13-14) because of the overall defensive scheme of Steve Clifford. While his blatant flaws will still probably be showcased with the Hornets, Charlotte may be the perfect fit for Stauskas as he makes that transition to the NBA.

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/2014-hor ... -stauskas/

[MasterIchiro]

He could definitely step in and become the anti-Hendo as the teams 3rd option, and the potential to oust Hendo on offense means more to this team than Henderson's contributions on defense. The fit between Kemba + MKG plus having Big Al as a pick and roll partner makes Stauskas clearly the best fit.

[mrknowitall215]

He could definitely step in and become the anti-Hendo as the teams 3rd option, and the potential to oust Hendo on offense means more to this team than Henderson's contributions on defense. The fit between Kemba + MKG plus having Big Al as a pick and roll partner makes Stauskas clearly the best fit.

For the record, I like Stauskas a lot more than Henderson, and if the Hornets drafted Stauskas I would debate until the cows come home for him to start over Henderson as soon as possible. I understand that it's not likely for Stauskas to start over Henderson right away, but I think he'd earn his stripes by midseason

[MasterIchiro]

• Charlotte, which has the ninth and 24th picks, is said to be focused on consensus player of the year Doug McDermott of Creighton or Michigan shooting guard Nik Stauskas at No. 9. Look for the Sixers to take whichever one is still on the board at 10.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken ... rrick-rose

[JDR720]

• Charlotte, which has the ninth and 24th picks, is said to be focused on consensus player of the year Doug McDermott of Creighton or Michigan shooting guard Nik Stauskas at No. 9. Look for the Sixers to take whichever one is still on the board at 10.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken ... rrick-rose

My two top guys, i bet we go Nik since we have MKG at SF already

[catch20two]

The luster on Stauskas has dried up on me. I get and understand the Klay Thompson comparisons but I think he'll be a lot closer to Redick. Klay probably wouldn't even see the floor enough to put up his points if he was as pourous of a defender as Stauskas. It took Redick years to consistently see the floor with his defense and he's still a liability that you can't play in the 4th.

[MasterIchiro]

• Charlotte, which has the ninth and 24th picks, is said to be focused on consensus player of the year Doug McDermott of Creighton or Michigan shooting guard Nik Stauskas at No. 9. Look for the Sixers to take whichever one is still on the board at 10.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken ... rrick-rose

My two top guys, i bet we go Nik since we have MKG at SF already

That's right. Quite simply MKG is more of a sure thing than Lance. All things being equal (Cho's words), you draft for fit. So we're looking at 2 elite shooters to space the floor and one of them is blocked by a player here and the other is not blocked at all unless the Hornets really want Lance and decide to pursue him after drafting Stauskas. I know it's not popular but I think Monroe becomes a bigger possibility if Stauskas is drafted. If Randle is drafted, Lance becomes a bigger possibility. I'm still unsure if they would draft Stauskas and still pursue Lance as their big name guy.

3-4 years seems like a long time for the 9 lottery pick to play behind somebody.

[MasterIchiro]

The luster on Stauskas has dried up on me. I get and understand the Klay Thompson comparisons but I think he'll be a lot closer to Redick. Klay probably wouldn't even see the floor enough to put up his points if he was as pourous of a defender as Stauskas. It took Redick years to consistently see the floor with his defense and he's still a liability that you can't play in the 4th.

Are you overlooking Stauskas' playmaking and ability to be the team's secondary ball handler? Redick could never do those things and neither could Klay.

I'm looking at a 40% 3pt shooter who can dish out 4 assists and handle the ball 2nd behind Kemba. That's a really rare find.

[JDR720]

The luster on Stauskas has dried up on me. I get and understand the Klay Thompson comparisons but I think he'll be a lot closer to Redick. Klay probably wouldn't even see the floor enough to put up his points if he was as pourous of a defender as Stauskas. It took Redick years to consistently see the floor with his defense and he's still a liability that you can't play in the 4th.

Are you overlooking Stauskas' playmaking and ability to be the team's secondary ball handler? Redick could never do those things and neither could Klay.

I'm looking at a 40% 3pt shooter who can dish out 4 assists and handle the ball 2nd behind Kemba. That's a really rare find.

he can score easier also because he is quite a big bigger than JJ and most of his defensive problems are fixable

[catch20two]

The luster on Stauskas has dried up on me. I get and understand the Klay Thompson comparisons but I think he'll be a lot closer to Redick. Klay probably wouldn't even see the floor enough to put up his points if he was as pourous of a defender as Stauskas. It took Redick years to consistently see the floor with his defense and he's still a liability that you can't play in the 4th.

Are you overlooking Stauskas' playmaking and ability to be the team's secondary ball handler? Redick could never do those things and neither could Klay.

I'm looking at a 40% 3pt shooter who can dish out 4 assists and handle the ball 2nd behind Kemba. That's a really rare find.

Eh, Stauskas and Redick averaged the same amount of career assist in college. The difference is Redick never played de facto PG at Duke because he played with Chris Duhon, Daniel Ewing, and Greg Paulus who set him up nicely.

[MasterIchiro]

The luster on Stauskas has dried up on me. I get and understand the Klay Thompson comparisons but I think he'll be a lot closer to Redick. Klay probably wouldn't even see the floor enough to put up his points if he was as pourous of a defender as Stauskas. It took Redick years to consistently see the floor with his defense and he's still a liability that you can't play in the 4th.

Are you overlooking Stauskas' playmaking and ability to be the team's secondary ball handler? Redick could never do those things and neither could Klay.

I'm looking at a 40% 3pt shooter who can dish out 4 assists and handle the ball 2nd behind Kemba. That's a really rare find.

Eh, Stauskas and Redick averaged the same amount of career assist in college.

First of all, did you consider maybe Reddick never got experience as the 2nd ball handler because he wasn't a savvy enough dribbler and playmaker? And it definitely matters to me that Nik does have this experience. He arrives to the team with the ability and the experience of being an important distributor/playmaker on his team.

2nd of all, if you want to make a fair comparison of assists, you have to isolate sophomore year because Reddick played all 4 years. Nik had far more assists. But I'm wasting my time with this comparison. Nik is so far and away the better playmaker that it's underhanded of you and disingenuous to even make the comparison as if there is one. Like the other side of the global warming debate. There is no other side.

Not only can Nik be the shooter Klay Thompson is but he can be a unique version of him that makes his teammates better.

[JDR720]

Nik vs JJ in their best college season and keep in mind this is sophomore Nik vs senior JJ

Nik

17.5pt - 1.9TO - .6stl - 3.3ast - 2.9rb - 44% 3pt - 47% FG and took just 11 shots per game

JJ
26.8pt - 2.5TO - 1.4stl - 2.6ast - 2rb - 42% 3pt - 47% FG and took 18 shots per game ( 9 threes)

[Liver_Pooty]

Haven't read too much of the above argument, but being the biggest Redick fan ever I can easily say Stauskas is the better player, by far.

[MasterIchiro]

Look at the assist/turnover ratio, tells you everything you know about who you would clearly trust with the ball in his hands as a major playmaker on your team and 2nd ball handler.


Nik Stauskas is definitely never going to be Reddick.

[catch20two]

Nik Stauskas is definitely never going to be Reddick.

They probably said the same thing about Casey Jacobsen.

[catch20two]

Put Stauskas next to Kemba where he won't have the ball in his hands as much as he did in college and he'll average like 2-3 assist and no more than 14 points.

[MasterIchiro]

Nik Stauskas is definitely never going to be Reddick.

They probably said the same thing about Casey Jacobsen.

My beef here with you regarding Stauskas is that you want to compare him to players who's only skill is shooting. That's not Nik's only skill. He dribbles and makes plays for a sniper and if you want to go ahead and be dismissive of those additional skills then you're not treating this prospect legitimately. These skills obviously matter in the NBA (Spurs) and as a fan they matter to you, so I have no idea why you talk about Nik as if he doesn't have additional skills that hold immense value for a team.

I concede he may not be the best individual talent at 9 but he's going to make the team overall better than any player at 9, and that's the idea here, like the Spurs, to put guys together for fit that play as a team and make each other better.