Nik Stauskas

Nik Stauskas
SG - 6’6, 205lbs - 24 years old - 4 years of experience

With low expectations and demands placed on him due to the nature of how he was acquired, Stauskas got a free audition with the Nets, allowing him to show what he has unburdened by the pressure of his draft slot. Unfortunately, he showed that he did not have much.

Shooting well as advertised, Stauskas has a smooth stroke when his feet are set with enough size to get them away. But given that he is not a fast player, getting open in the first place is not the easiest. The spread Nets’ offence gives any shooters some opportunities, but stand-still shooters are not that hard to come by, and need to stand out in other ways.

Brooklyn were able to turn a similar situation around with Joe Harris, but it took time, time Stauskas’s contractual situation does not give him. A similar size to Harris and armed with a similarly sweet stroke, Stauskas lacks for the strength Harris has, which means he lacks for the defence and the ability to smoothly get to the rim. And this means he lacks much beyond the catch-and-shoot open three pointer. Stauskas is good at that, to be sure, but not anything more than that aside from very occasional fill-in stints at point.

In particular, Stauskas is a bad defensive player at this level. He is not strong, he is not fast, he cannot change anyone’s direction, he does not make plays on the ball, and he exhibits a low defensive IQ. He is very unimpactful on this end, and in four years he has gotten no better. The Harris allusion is thus a hopeful one rather than an expected one - while he is two years younger, has Stauskas shown any sign that he will be at that stage in two years time?

Player Plan: Entering free agency. It could be restricted free agency, but there seems little need to extend him a $4,333,932 qualifying offer (shrunk after not meeting starter criteria) that is more value than he has shown. Considering the guard crunch, an unlikely candidate to return; if the Nets didn’t want or need him much this year, why would they do so in future years?

Nik Stauskas
SG, 6’6, 205lbs, 23 years old, 3 years of experience

The year on year improvements are very marginal. Stauskas is shooting the three-pointer well, and the catch-and-shoot look especially, but the pull-up three shooting is far worse, and there is little else to the game. Not handling it much, nor handling it reliably, nor defending his position well, nor driving close-outs efficiently. The catch-and-shoot three will keep him around, especially on a team committed to the three-point line without having many shooters. But Stauskas still has not really blossomed, and given a couple more years of this, maybe he never will.

Player Plan: One year of rookie scale salary remaining. Extension eligible, but hasn’t earned it. Stauskas plays the one position on the roster without a cemented long-term piece, and should get the opportunities to make it his. But he hasn’t done so yet, and Luwawu-Cabarrot is right there.

Sunken dugouts might be a pretty good remedy to players leaving the bench during altercations, actually.

Stauskas will be a first round pick. The only question is how high.

Probably the best shooter on this long list of good shooters, Stauskas combines an extremely good mid- and long-range jump shot with great shot selection and a tremendous shot off of screens. Many players can catch and shoot well, but few shoot as well all around as Stauskas does, an excellent shooter off the dribble and off of curls, as well as being someone who must be contested when spotting up in both transition and the half court. To boot, there is also a step-back jumper, and a strong understanding of what the defense is giving and when. It is these skills that separate him as a shooter from someone such as the otherwise comparable Jon Diebler.

Outside of the shot, Stauskas has developed considerably as an overall playmaker. Utilising hesitations, changes of pace, dipsy-dos and the like, Stauskas can take advantage of the defensive shifts created by his lovely shot off the dribble by getting to the rim, giving himself multiple options in all pick-and-roll action, including hitting the roll man. Stauskas separates himself from other shooters by being a scorer rather than a shooter, very smart, efficient and smooth, building on what his jump shot opens up. He is fluid, he has body control, and he knows where to get to. He doesn't isolate well and nor will he likely ever, but nor should he.

Unfortunately, the defensive concerns are loud and valid. Without being an athlete, without being strong, without having a particularly good wingspan, there are not really any defensive matchups favourable for Stauskas. Quicker guys can get by him, longer guys aren't troubled by him, and stronger guys can push through him. Even opponents with roughly the same physical profile on him are not too bothered by his defensive presence, as Stauskas does not work to overcome these deficiencies with a high motor or great defensive reads.

Stauskas is extremely effective above the break and loves a high ball screen. Adding a corner three to that shouldn't be too hard, and he should be an excellent floor spacer in the NBA from the minute he enters it. But he'll also be a defensive liability from that moment on, too. So he's going to have to be good enough of an offensive player to produce more points than he's giving away. This is possible.