The Hink Tank: Nik Stauskas

Tongue out like MJ, 3 balls like Ray Ray

For my 4th edition in my series leading up to the NBA draft where we are looking at some lesser known prospects that are outside of the top 8 who could potentially be the pick for the Sixers are #10, we will investigate the skills and ceiling of Nik Stauskas, probably the best wing player in the draft outside of Wiggins, Jabari and posssssiiiblyyyy… Aaron Gordon? If you're stretching the term that is. Anyway, he's a 6'7" SG out of Michigan with a 35.5" vertical, not bad for a Lithuanian-Canadian white guy, but his main skill is shooting, and boy, can he shoot. Here's some proof.

Stauskas is such a good shooter that he's sort of being labeled as a one trick pony in this draft. Comparisons to J.J. Redick are prominent and that's exactly the label Stauskas is trying to shake. The question legitimately is, whether or not Stauskas can develop into more than a spot up shooter. Obviously shooting is an important skill in the NBA, but is it really worth a top 10 pick in a loaded draft class just to get a one-dimensional player? I would be hesitant to think Hinkie would answer "yes" to that question. It took years before it was discovered that Redick was a useful player beyond shooting in this league, if Stauskas is drafted to the Sixers it won't take nearly as long to figure out his usefulness.

That's mostly due to the fact that the Sixers would throw him into the fire right away. And that could be a good and a bad thing for Stauskas who, certainly has NBA range on his shot, but is not as NBA ready in other aspects of his game. Ball handling and quickness are Stauskas two biggest improvement areas. Still, Stauskas has the size to see over most NBA 2-guards and his length would mesh well with the 6'6" MCW. Plus a SG that can start next to MCW and shoot the lights out would be a welcome sight in Philadelphia.

That's mostly the only argument that needs to be made for having the Sixers draft Stauskas. The Sixers need shooting, desperately, and Stauskas is the best player in the draft to provide that. At Michigan, he shot over 44% from 3-point range and made over 2.5 threes per game. Just what the doctor ordered for a team with a bunch of broken jump shots. The Sixers drafting of Stauskas though, relies heavily on what the team does with the #3 pick. If they take Exum, Wiggins or Parker, the need for another wing isn't as pressing (but the need for shooting still remains). If the team roles the dice and takes Embiid, than a shooter/wing will definitely be needed.

So far, I've looked at 4 prospects and have said that pretty much all of them would be good fits in Philly and that's mostly true in a vacuum. The Sixers need talent everywhere and all of these prospects are talented in their own way, but in order for the Sixers to bring the most out of these prospects, they have to draft in a way that gives them the best chance to succeed. For example, drafting Joel Embiid and Dario Saric could be a catastrophe because you probably can't start Embiid, Noel and Saric together unless you want to have a freakishly tall and slow defensive front court. Which is probably not going to work in today's NBA where quick guards rule the court. Likewise, if you draft Exum with the #3 pick, it doesn't really make sense to take Gary Harris or Stauskas because then you won't have a true SF to start; just two PG's and a SG. I think the best route for the Sixers to go is to link together a wing and forward, what combination of players they'll choose to draft and create that link however, is anybody's guess. Hinkie will have his "stone face" on for the rest of the draft.

South Street Draft Rating: 5/10

Next up: Doug McDermott

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ONLY 5 MORE DAYS!!!

Previous Editions:

Dario Saric

Zach LaVine

Gary Harris