I don't buy that line of reasoning. They aren't the same player and they both have different strengths. The only similarity is the shooting (even that yet to be seen with Ben). Stauskas is also one of the best possible fits in this entire class with Gay+Cuz as your two main pieces. Especially so if you resign IT as well.
Where Stauskas differs is he's a complete offensive player. His ball-handling/passing and playmaking are outstanding for a SG. He has outstanding size for a SG at 6'6. He's a solid athlete. He's an outstanding catch and shoot player and knows how to work off-ball (which is exactly what we want). I also see Stauskas being able to run a bit of PG at the next level, ala poor man's Manu Ginobli. If both pan out, then we have an excellent problem to have. And you can still find minutes for Stauskas as his ball-handling would allow him to play some PG and his size would allow him to play some SF in certain match-ups.
With Ben, we're banking on the athleticism and potential to come to fruition. He's got all the potential and physical tools to be an excellent 2-way player, but it's just that right now; potential. While Bradley is a nice pipe-dream, a competent FA is not going to happen at the SG slot. We just don't have the money.
What drafting Stauskas also does is give real competition to Ben to get his poopoo together. After his season last year, in no way shape or form should he be gifted the starting slot. Stauskas creates competition, which will let us know if he can rise to the occasion or not.
I think Stauskas is better than Ben, right now, before he plays a minute of NBA basketball, but I can't personally justify drafting another SG when we have others holes to fill.
Stauskas would be drafted (on this team, with Gay and Cousins) as a role player. Someone who can space the floor with his shooting and play solid defense. His playmaking is nice, but if he's getting the ball as much as Ben got it last season, he's not even going to get an opportunity to display that. All I'm saying is that those two players will get asked to play the similar, if not the same exact role. And Ben, who is the better athlete, might get the slight edge is terms of fit for a player who is hardly getting any touches. Again, I think Stauskas is a better overall player, though.
But my reasoning isn't as important as the fact that I just wouldn't draft him. Not at 8. I'd take any of the guys who fall out of that top 8 over him (It will likely be Randle, Smart, or Gordon) and I'd take Payton over him, too.
Someone mentioned in a different thread about drafting Stauskas after Ben is traded, which I can get behind to a certain extent, but Stauskas is the sort of player we need to step away from. Everyone can try and praise his 'solidness' defensively, but we need better than solid because the rest of the roster is so terrible on that end. I'd take the three high level defenders I mentioned (Smart, Payton, or Gordon) over the offensive guy. We need to fix that side of the ball.
Drafting Smart or Payton would offer an immediate upgrade defensively (and I actually like Thomas more than most here, but I believe this to be true) and Gordon, who I really want, will give us another extremely versatile defender. And it's not like those guys are slouches on offense, but they can create problems on the other end, too. The Kings need impact defenders more than anything else.
I think this is different than Jimmer vs. Lillard for a few reasons, but the major one being that Jimmer was and is a gimmick player. I never wanted the Kings to draft him in the first place. He lacked the raw tools most players need to play point guard in the NBA. Ben, who I have serious doubts about overall, at least has the tools. He's very fluid. He moves extremely well. He's quick. He's a great athlete. I can see the potential, and he has the foundation. Jimmer never had the foundation. He could shoot, that's it. Lillard was a much more complete offensive player, who isn't a great athlete but he's 10x the athlete Jimmer was.
Drafting Stauskas would leave me very unsatisfied. Like we're just spinning our wheels.
