Last night, Philadelphia 76ers General Manager Sam Hinkie pulled off a trade with the Sacramento Kings, bringing in shooting guard Nik Stauskas, along with big men Carl Landry and Jason Thompson. Stauskas was the 8th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, and was a player the Sixers targeted with their 9th pick in that draft. In return the Sixers will send the rights to overseas prospects that won’t be on the Kings books and a future second round pick.
Nik Stauskas was one of my top fifteen prospects in the 2014 NBA Draft, and was a player that I thought would be a perfect fit for the Sixers with their ninth pick in that draft. Many scouts and NBA reporters, including myself were very surprised when the Kings drafted Stauskas a year after drafting Ben McLemore, who plays the same position. According to reports, Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé , strong-armed his personnel department, forcing them to draft Stauskas instead of point guard Elfrid Payton, whom the personnel department wanted, and later made the 1st team All-Rookie Team.
The Sixers badly needed to address the shooting guard position, needed more shooting in order to space the floor, and they have a potential knockdown shooter in Stauskas. When scouting prior to last year’s draft, he showed the ability to shoot the ball consistently with deep range, in a medley of situations. From his freshman to sophomore year, he got physically stronger, while improving his game offensively. He’s an underrated ball handler, has the ability to use the bounce to create space to get clean looks or get to the hole.
He struggled as a rookie in Sacramento, scoring only 4.4 points per game, while shooting 36% from the field and 32% from three point land, but the book isn’t closed on him as a NBA player. The NBA is a much different game from college, and it takes guys some time to get used to the speed, length, and strength, especially shooters. I’m looking forward to watching him play in the upcoming summer league and see how he’s developed physically and mentally.
In Sam Hinkie style, the Sixers also have the ability to swap first round picks with the Kings in the 2016 and 2017 drafts, and will have the Kings first round pick in 2018.
The Kings were looking to move the salaries of Landry and Thompson so they could pursue Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis(who has since signed with the Pacers) and possibly Wes Matthews in free agency. By moving these contracts, the Kings now have 25 million dollars in cap space, enough to add two of the three players they are targeting.
Muslim Football Scout 