Kings select for the 8th pick - Nik Stauskas

[Livinthedream]

How did we "waste it"? If there were no takers in trade, and we took a nice player, how was it a waste? Unless you thought Payton would come in and contribute more than Nik?

I really like the Stauskas pick, I just don't like the lack of a trade or FA more for the other pieces. But the draft in itself... with selection #8 - the more we read about Nik the more reasonable it seems I think. Vonleh had to be sliding so bad for a reason, and Payton seems just as speculative as Nik.

We drafted a SG back to back. We either wasted last years or this years pick with redundancy.

I know you have to have 2 sides to make a trade. You can improve with a trade or with a pick. If you can't make a trade, the draft pick is within control of the team. I thought Payton would have been a better pick for the team, if we were unable to unload Ben.

 

[John Galt]

fair enough. last draft seems like it was freaking horrible though - hardly a memorable rookie class. But I can see protesting that "Payton was the better pick". But if Pete does now finally feel he can move Ben (they were sure acting like moving Ben was a non-starter up until now), then maybe it all will fall into place.

I got so hyped up thinking "Rondo for Ben + #8" was on the table that I was initially very disappointed to come out of draft day with "just a piece". But I'm just hoping more of the big picture starts revealing itself, kinda hoping we move Ben and IT (and whatever else it takes, some enders or whatever) in an elaborate S&T for a Dragic type talent. I really have a fetish for Dragic. I was at a game last year and there was a group of people cheering him on and waving a Slovenian flag. I think he, along with Nik, would really light up the fan base.

 

[Kingster]

But you must have some. More than just "some" actually. this three decade long myth perpetuated upon the Sacto fanbase that defense is some extracurricular thing that any group of talented basketball players (which is to say offensive basketball players) can do if they all just get together and decide to do it is bunk. You can have a few poor defenders, but you need to have a core group of flat good ones on which to hang your "team defense".

When the Spurs play good "team defense" they do it on the backs of strong indivudal defender like Duncan and Kawhi and Splitter and Green. When the Heat play good defense its with LeBron and Wade and Chalmers and Battier swarming. When the peak Kings played good team defense it was anchored by Christie, and BJax and Pollard and Hedo, and during our best year, by Jim Jackson and Keon Clark as well. Its the sort of disrespect of defensive players you would expect of an offensively fascinated franchise to p[erpetuate claims that just anybody can go and become a good defender if they just want to badly enough. That's ridiculous.

And so I think that some of the pushback against the Stauskas selection isn't so much about Stauskas himself as it is about the team/teammates he is going to. If the Spurs make that selection nobody blinks, the stories probably go the Spurs trying to be saavy again and select Manu's successor etc. etc., meanwhile the kid goes into a system where Kawhi and Green cover his ass against tough matchups, Duncan has his back etc. But when the Kings make that same pick...its just more of the same. Perpetuating a defenseless culture. If the front office and frankly after hearing some of his interviews, the coach, would just grow a brainstem and bring in some actual defensive personnel, the Stauskas pick beings to look a lot more acceptable.

Let's not overplay the defense defense chant.The Spurs have a couple of good two-way players: Leonard (2nd team Defense) and Duncan. Green and Splitter are nothing to write home about on an individual D basis. The Spurs weren't God's Gift to defensive talent. After Leonard and Duncan, their talent is fairly average defensively on an individual basis. And Duncan is 99 years old, so even in the middle they are certainly not dominant.

SA plays great team fundamental defense because they are coached by a great coach and they have players that buy-in. They get back on defense, they close out on three pointers without getting out of position, they read scouting reports and play defense in accordance with their scouting reports, they see ball and man, they are constantly aware of what they need to do in terms of help defense - all of the things the Kings need work on.

Moreover, people may not want to hear it, but nevertheless it is true: their magnificent offense helps their defense. It tires the heck out of the opposing team because of their great ball movement, it gets good shots at the basket, thereby either allowing them to make the shot, be in a position to offensive rebound, or be in a position to get back on D. And their turnovers are low, allowing for them to set up their half court defense. The Kings offense, on the other hand, is the anti-Spurs offense. I can't think of an offense more diametrically opposed to the Spurs than the Kings. One should hope that the two offenses never play at the same time in close proximity or the world will get blown to smitherenes by an anti-matter explosion.

 

[Hallama]

Let's not overplay the defense defense chant.The Spurs have a couple of good two-way players: Leonard (2nd team Defense) and Duncan. Green and Splitter are nothing to write home about on an individual D basis. The Spurs weren't God's Gift to defensive talent. After Leonard and Duncan, their talent is fairly average defensively on an individual basis. And Duncan is 99 years old, so even in the middle they are certainly not dominant.

SA plays great team fundamental defense because they are coached by a great coach and they have players that buy-in. They get back on defense, they close out on three pointers without getting out of position, they read scouting reports and play defense in accordance with their scouting reports, they see ball and man, they are constantly aware of what they need to do in terms of help defense - all of the things the Kings need work on.

Moreover, people may not want to hear it, but nevertheless it is true: their magnificent offense helps their defense. It tires the heck out of the opposing team because of their great ball movement, it gets good shots at the basket, thereby either allowing them to make the shot, be in a position to offensive rebound, or be in a position to get back on D. And their turnovers are low, allowing for them to set up their half court defense. The Kings offense, on the other hand, is the anti-Spurs offense. I can't think of an offense more diametrically opposed to the Spurs than the Kings. One should hope that the two offenses never play at the same time in close proximity or the world will get blown to smitherenes by an anti-matter explosion.

I wouldn't discount Splitter's D. He's actually a really tough defender.

 

[Kingster]

I wouldn't discount Splitter's D. He's actually a really tough defender.

And yet he played 23, 19, 16, 15, and 11 minutes respectively in the five games against Miami, with Pop playing him fewer minutes as the series progressed. So how much of an effect did he have?

 

[Hallama]

So we're just talking about FINALs defense now...got it.

MIA went small, Pop countered. SA won.

 

[pshn80]

fair enough. last draft seems like it was freaking horrible though - hardly a memorable rookie class. But I can see protesting that "Payton was the better pick". But if Pete does now finally feel he can move Ben (they were sure acting like moving Ben was a non-starter up until now), then maybe it all will fall into place.

I got so hyped up thinking "Rondo for Ben + #8" was on the table that I was initially very disappointed to come out of draft day with "just a piece". But I'm just hoping more of the big picture starts revealing itself, kinda hoping we move Ben and IT (and whatever else it takes, some enders or whatever) in an elaborate S&T for a Dragic type talent. I really have a fetish for Dragic. I was at a game last year and there was a group of people cheering him on and waving a Slovenian flag. I think he, along with Nik, would really light up the fan base.

Ididn't have the same problem with the draft because I really didn't want either Payton or Rondo on Vonleh. Looking forward to wha happens next.

 

[mac]

Let's not overplay the defense defense chant.The Spurs have a couple of good two-way players: Leonard (2nd team Defense) and Duncan. Green and Splitter are nothing to write home about on an individual D basis. The Spurs weren't God's Gift to defensive talent. After Leonard and Duncan, their talent is fairly average defensively on an individual basis. And Duncan is 99 years old, so even in the middle they are certainly not dominant.

SA plays great team fundamental defense because they are coached by a great coach and they have players that buy-in. They get back on defense, they close out on three pointers without getting out of position, they read scouting reports and play defense in accordance with their scouting reports, they see ball and man, they are constantly aware of what they need to do in terms of help defense - all of the things the Kings need work on.

Moreover, people may not want to hear it, but nevertheless it is true: their magnificent offense helps their defense. It tires the heck out of the opposing team because of their great ball movement, it gets good shots at the basket, thereby either allowing them to make the shot, be in a position to offensive rebound, or be in a position to get back on D. And their turnovers are low, allowing for them to set up their half court defense. The Kings offense, on the other hand, is the anti-Spurs offense. I can't think of an offense more diametrically opposed to the Spurs than the Kings. One should hope that the two offenses never play at the same time in close proximity or the world will get blown to smitherenes by an anti-matter explosion.

Green and Splitter are probably better defenders than anyone on our entire roster. Don't forget the impact that Green had in the previous finals.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

fair enough. last draft seems like it was freaking horrible though - hardly a memorable rookie class. But I can see protesting that "Payton was the better pick". But if Pete does now finally feel he can move Ben (they were sure acting like moving Ben was a non-starter up until now), then maybe it all will fall into place.

I got so hyped up thinking "Rondo for Ben + #8" was on the table that I was initially very disappointed to come out of draft day with "just a piece". But I'm just hoping more of the big picture starts revealing itself, kinda hoping we move Ben and IT (and whatever else it takes, some enders or whatever) in an elaborate S&T for a Dragic type talent. I really have a fetish for Dragic. I was at a game last year and there was a group of people cheering him on and waving a Slovenian flag. I think he, along with Nik, would really light up the fan base.

Agreed. Those two would light up Arco like a pinball machine and get the party rolling like it's 1999

 

[Chupacabra]

favorite Stauskas highlights. He makes the defense pay for making tiny mistakes. While i still feel very uneasy about our defense, Stauskas will probably make a significant difference next year.

 

[jcwkings]

It will be interesting to see if seeing Stauskas drafted will light a fire under McLemore(if he indeed is on the roster). Here is a guy that has been "the guy" his whole life through high school, college and even last year he was viewed as our golden child that we were grooming for the future. Not anymore, welcome to the big leagues Ben, if you don't produce they find a replacement and throw you to the side. I think summer league will be a great indication of things.

 

[KingMilz]

It will be interesting to see if seeing Stauskas drafted will light a fire under McLemore(if he indeed is on the roster). Here is a guy that has been "the guy" his whole life through high school, college and even last year he was viewed as our golden child that we were grooming for the future. Not anymore, welcome to the big leagues Ben, if you don't produce they find a replacement and throw you to the side. I think summer league will be a great indication of things.

I don't Ben is not a player that's built for the SL, Nik since he has playmaking/ball handling is more built for it I expect Nik to outperform Ben by a long way during the SL and that gap to shrink once the season starts where your playing against the elite.

Honestly I hope they both thrive and maybe even play them together when teams go small at the 3.

 

[Albatros]

favorite Stauskas highlights. He makes the defense pay for making tiny mistakes. While i still feel very uneasy about our defense, Stauskas will probably make a significant difference next year.

My favourite part is him seeing over the defense in the P&R and being able to make that pass to the roll man. How often does IT do that? Just off the top of my head I don't remember a single occasion.

 

[Swaze]

After seeing several Stauskas highlights, reading the scouting reports, and listening to his interviews it's pretty clear why the Kings drafted Stauskas............the guy is great in the pick-n-roll and he has the potential to be lethal in a pick-n-roll combo with Cousins.

Stauskas has talked quite a bit in interviews about his ball handling and decision making in pick-n-rolls and when you combine that with his shooting ability, he could really be a great fit with Cousins.

Remains to be seen how well he turns out and yes I know the defense is an issue, but make no mistake Nik Stauskas was brought in to make Cousins even better and for the team to truly thrive offensively with Cousins as the centerpiece.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Cousins is going to have to start putting some more effort into his picks, but yes, he and Stauskas could be deadly.

 

[Jerichoholic]

Cousins is going to have to start putting some more effort into his picks, but yes, he and Stauskas could be deadly.

It's the little things that make all the difference. Playing the pick and role, defending the pick and roll, setting screens, etc. Cousins definitely needs to improve in that area, but it also shows just how much our current PF position is hurting us. Not only do Thompson and Landry hurt our salary cap, but they are among the worst at doing these little things. When we get a serviceable replacement I think things will improve tremendously.

 

[Glenn]

Cousins is going to have to start putting some more effort into his picks, but yes, he and Stauskas could be deadly.

I heartily agree but if paired with another player who knows how to run the P&R, he just might set better picks. It does no good (thinking like Cuz) to do your part of the P&R when the other guy isn't going to do his part.

 

[Hallama]

It's the little things that make all the difference. Playing the pick and role, defending the pick and roll, setting screens, etc. Cousins definitely needs to improve in that area, but it also shows just how much our current PF position is hurting us. Not only do Thompson and Landry hurt our salary cap, but they are among the worst at doing these little things. When we get a serviceable replacement I think things will improve tremendously.

Landry is actually a pretty good pick and pop PF in half court sets. If healthy he will help this team next season. They need his scoring off the bench.

 

[roasthawg]

Landry is actually a pretty good pick and pop PF in half court sets. If healthy he will help this team next season. They need his scoring off the bench.

Really hoping he's healthy... that was a bad break last year.

 

[kingjatt]

I noticed how the spurs sprint in and out of their pick and rolls, basically sprint thru their offensive sets/cuts, the pick and roll game and speed of the half court offense is something this whole team needs to work on in general.

 

[Chupacabra]

Really hoping he's healthy... that was a bad break last year.

If Landry is full strength AND we keep IT that is a deadly combo off the bench. If Stauskas is able to contribute right away in combination with my first sentence then we shall see ATLEAST 5 more wins.

 

[bajaden]

After seeing several Stauskas highlights, reading the scouting reports, and listening to his interviews it's pretty clear why the Kings drafted Stauskas............the guy is great in the pick-n-roll and he has the potential to be lethal in a pick-n-roll combo with Cousins.

Stauskas has talked quite a bit in interviews about his ball handling and decision making in pick-n-rolls and when you combine that with his shooting ability, he could really be a great fit with Cousins.

Remains to be seen how well he turns out and yes I know the defense is an issue, but make no mistake Nik Stauskas was brought in to make Cousins even better and for the team to truly thrive offensively with Cousins as the centerpiece.

I'd like to point out that Stauskas wasn't a terrible defender in college. Not like Jimmer. Jimmer played no defense at BYU. Stauskas actually had some very good moments defensively. He also had some bad moments, but the point being, he showed on more than one occasion he could play defense. My criticism came from him not always getting back in transition, and in playing too far off his man when he didn't have the ball, and sometimes losing his man when he didn't have the ball. He carried a large amount of the load for Michigan offensively, and it appeared to me that he just let up defensively sometimes. Not excusing him for that, just saying that I think he can be good enough defensively to where he's not a liability at worse. He's a bright kid, that wants to be great. He knows he needs to improve defensively, and I believe he will. But it will take some time.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Not sure if this has been posted already, but here's Coach Malone on the subject of Stauskas and defense in an interview with Cowbell Kingdom (lots more in the interview as well, definitely worth a click):

Malone: I think one thing that will help him immediately is getting in the weight room and getting a little bit stronger and being able to stand his ground and hold guys and make them feel him a little bit. But I kind of go back to when we drafted Klay Thompson when I was at Golden State. We drafted Klay as a shooter. No one talked about Klay Thompson coming out of Washington State as a defender and look what he’s turned into. And that’s a great credit to Klay Thompson and all the work he’s put in. And he bought into our defensive system and he did a tremendous job.

I would not go as far as to say that Nik Stauskas is a bad defender. I think that’s doing him a disservice. I think he can get better as a defender and he will get better, especially one-on-one. A team defender? And understanding the team defense, I have no doubt he’ll be able to pick up our system, our terminology and our philosophy very quickly. I think he has a high basketball IQ. He’ll learn the NBA. Experience will be a big teacher for him this year and as he goes through it, he’ll pick things up and that’s only going to help him in the future.

- See more at: http://cowbellkingdom.com/michael-m...needs-and-summer-league/#sthash.DmgqvlND.dpuf

 

[HereWeBoogie]

My favorite part of that Stauskas highlight video was the clip where the team was down 1 with under 10 seconds left in the game, and he PASSED the ball to the rolling big man and his team took the lead. Definitely the type of plays this team needs.

 

[Swaze]

It seems the further we get from the draft the more people are starting to see the potential in Stauskas. Of course at this point it's all potential but the kid seems to have a high basketball IQ and a natural "swagger" and strong work ethic. Usually when you combine all of those things together you end up with at least a pretty good player. He doesn't have huge upside but perhaps more importantly he has low downside. At worst he looks like a solid rotation player and at best possible #3 scorer on a good team.

The Kings don't need Stauskas to be a star player. They don't even need him to be a #2 player. That's not what they drafted him for. What they need from him is to make big shots, make plays, spread the floor thus making everybody else better, and eventually become a solid team defender that doesn't hurt you on the defensive end.

I have a feeling that Stauskas is going to make "Gerbil" (as so many call him) actually look like he knows what he is doing. And hell who knows maybe just maybe he does know what he is doing......

 

[upinsmoke]

Full episode up. I love how Vivek is a boss but let's others do their job.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Full episode up. I love how Vivek is a boss but let's others do their job.

That is a very interesting watch. Only 6.30 in but great insight. Encouraging to see that PDA was aggressive in trying to move up to 3 to get Embiid but they didn't bite. And Philly wanted to offer 10 and 2 2nd rounders for 8, we didn't take it. Can understand that.

Little more confident in PDA when you hear him talking about actual basketball stuff rather than the gimmicky publicity stuff. He does seem to be aware of what we need re defense. Vivek makes me nervous... Love him, but I really hope he's not part of the basketball making decisions. He's too much of a casual fan, easily impressed by stuff he shouldn't be. I'm probably being harsh there but still makes me a little nervous.

 

[rhythmless]

That is a very interesting watch. Only 6.30 in but great insight. Encouraging to see that PDA was aggressive in trying to move up to 3 to get Embiid but they didn't bite. And Philly wanted to offer 10 and 2 2nd rounders for 8, we didn't take it. Can understand that.

Little more confident in PDA when you hear him talking about actual basketball stuff rather than the gimmicky publicity stuff. He does seem to be aware of what we need re defense. Vivek makes me nervous... Love him, but I really hope he's not part of the basketball making decisions. He's too much of a casual fan, easily impressed by stuff he shouldn't be. I'm probably being harsh there but still makes me a little nervous.

I completely agree. His vision seems to be GS2.0 rather than his self-touted NBA 3.0. From the awful signing of Landry away from GS, to pining for Klay, to drafting what he hopes to be Klay, bringing on Malone, etc. It was obvious after he bought the team that it was going to be a rebuild where we needed to shed bad contracts, go after the draft, and find talent that fits. He came in with new owner syndrome and thought he was going to compete for the playoffs. We have no cap space, bad contracts on the books and less than 30 wins to show for it. That's what happens when you try and speed the process up. I understand it; he just bought a new toy. He's probably wanted to be the main owner for a while. He thinks he's got the knowledge to compete. Lacob's probably talking a bunch of mess. But I wish he would look at the big picture and respect the process of turning a bad team into a good, sustainable one.

 

[Monster]

I'd like to point out that Stauskas wasn't a terrible defender in college. Not like Jimmer. Jimmer played no defense at BYU. Stauskas actually had some very good moments defensively. He also had some bad moments, but the point being, he showed on more than one occasion he could play defense. My criticism came from him not always getting back in transition, and in playing too far off his man when he didn't have the ball, and sometimes losing his man when he didn't have the ball. He carried a large amount of the load for Michigan offensively, and it appeared to me that he just let up defensively sometimes. Not excusing him for that, just saying that I think he can be good enough defensively to where he's not a liability at worse. He's a bright kid, that wants to be great. He knows he needs to improve defensively, and I believe he will. But it will take some time.

Agree with what you said except for the part about him carrying the offensive load. Michigan had a very balanced attack on offense. Nik was the leading scorer and most important scorer, but he didn't carry the offense.

Defensively, he could stay in front of his man most of the time. His biggest problem was help defense and transition D. Not really the fact of him getting back, but struggling to make some kind of play to stop the ball. Not a difficult thing to fix for someone who works hard.

 

[Monster]

Full episode up. I love how Vivek is a boss but let's others do their job.

"Nick Rocks" - Wow, that's awkward.