Nikception - is our rookie ever going to have a chance?

[Kingster]

Stauskas doesn't have above average quickness, and he doesn't have much strength. It will take him a while to develop the strength and the wiles necessary to defend. And until he can defend, he's going to have issues with playing time and with confidence. It's hard to have confidence on the offensive end when you're getting schooled on the defensive end. These are the typical things that happen to a lot of rookies.

 

[dude12]

And you know this how? Maybe people think the guy can handle, make good decisions and play D. Just my guess.

And the Kings worked him out.....and then much later worked him out again.

 

[New Era]

And you know this how? Maybe people think the guy can handle, make good decisions and play D. Just my guess.

First of all, the guy is a head case. Why do you think all the other teams have passed on him, despite the fact that he has talent? Second, we are starting to see what BMac is all about now. If he continues this growth, there is no need to bring in another 2 guard. Nik isn't going to play any worse and will be a capable backup. There also isn't any reason to rock the boat right now. We have good chemistry, everybody knows their roles, and we are winning.

 

[New Era]

And the Kings worked him out.....and then much later worked him out again.

They worked him out when it looked like BMac was never going to get it....

 

[bajaden]

Nik hasn't proved to anyone that he does deserve a spot on this team yet (in terms of what we've seen so far). Nik has been struggling a lot. Rookie or not, if you do not preform you will not get PT on a good team. Tyler Ennis and TJ Warren who were both 1st rounders for PHX, have received little to 0 minutes this season.

I'm not worried about Nik at all, but he doesn't deserve PT if he can't AT LEAST shoot without air balling.

To the best of my knowledge, Rudy Gay has shot more air balls than Stauskas! Does that mean he shouldn't get playing time? Look, I agree with most of your point, but not with the way you said it. You don't have to be a smart a$$ to make your point. As a matter of fact, your being a smart A$$ takes away from your point. Yes, Nik will be just fine. He's going through what most rookies go through. Just about every rookie thinks he knows what to expect when he gets to the NBA, and finds out that he doesn't. There's an adjustment period, and unfortunately, most fans want instant results. Nik has gone from taking 12 to 14 shots a game, to sometimes just 2 or 3 shots a game. Pretty soon, you start looking over your shoulder everytime you miss a shot, to see if your replacement is at the scorers table. The minute a shooter starts thinking about his shot, he's in trouble.

In short, he's going through what every rookie goes through. He'll fight through it and in the end, be a better player. He's still getting minutes, so all he has to do is figure out, how Nik can get back to being Nik.

 

[dude12]

They worked him out when it looked like BMac was never going to get it....

Or....they worked him out because it looked like Nik wasn't going to be ready.

 

[bajaden]

One big problem with Nik is:

For some reason or another, the instant Nik subs into the game, the opposing team immediately changes their entire gameplan and starts running plays directly to take advantage of the rook.

I mean, the other teams are focused on him like he slapped their collective wives, or something - it's kinda odd.

While that's not totally true, that's what I would do if I were the opposing team. Especially if he's guarding a player on my team that's good at posting up. However, there have been just as many times when he's come into the game and not been tested. I think the testing is a more recent development, which is normal. Word spreads around the NBA. No different than a rookie defensive back on an NFL team. They'll test you until they don't think it's advantageous anymore. When you add in that the ref's aren't going to give him any breaks defensively, it makes things even worse for him. In this last game I thought he got a clean block at the basket, and instead he was called for foul. Sometimes it's not fair, but you just have to fight your way through it.

I think I've had this same discussion about every rookie we ever drafted. I remember folks that wanted to get rid of Cousins. Not a lot of them around anymore. At least for the moment.

 

[bajaden]

Or....they worked him out because it looked like Nik wasn't going to be ready.

They worked him out as veteran insurance at the position. No more, no less! Not bad thinking when your starter is in his second year, and his backup is a rookie.

 

[206Fan]

To the best of my knowledge, Rudy Gay has shot more air balls than Stauskas! Does that mean he shouldn't get playing time? Look, I agree with most of your point, but not with the way you said it. You don't have to be a smart a$$ to make your point. As a matter of fact, your being a smart A$$ takes away from your point. Yes, Nik will be just fine. He's going through what most rookies go through. Just about every rookie thinks he knows what to expect when he gets to the NBA, and finds out that he doesn't. There's an adjustment period, and unfortunately, most fans want instant results. Nik has gone from taking 12 to 14 shots a game, to sometimes just 2 or 3 shots a game. Pretty soon, you start looking over your shoulder everytime you miss a shot, to see if your replacement is at the scorers table. The minute a shooter starts thinking about his shot, he's in trouble.

In short, he's going through what every rookie goes through. He'll fight through it and in the end, be a better player. He's still getting minutes, so all he has to do is figure out, how Nik can get back to being Nik.

I was not being a smartass, but sorry if it rubbed off wrong. Stauskas shouldn't get any minutes if he can't contribute. I'm comparing the circumstances when she asked is it because "he's a rookie?" Nik isn't going to get PT just because he's our 8th overall pick was my point. In the NBA, you have to prove yourself worthy of PT. It doesn't come easy. Nik's problem goes beyond missing shots. His problem is that he's ineffective on both ends of the floor. The last few games, Nik has taken a lot of airballs. Those airballs do not help at all when he's getting burned bad on defense. It makes him look even worse than he actually is.

I think fans want instant results because Nik was suggested as one of the most NBA ready players. I, myself didn't expect him to get a lot of PT this year. However, I did expect him to knock down a few more shots. Malone has been really patient with Nik, until the Pelicans game happened. I read that you were the grader of Nik for that game? He was terrible flat out. There's a reason why he was benched the following game. I think Coach is going to come with a different approach now. He's going to award guys who he thinks are worthy of PT. I think he wants to play players that will help our team win.

The best thing Nik can do right now is start hitting his shots. Once he starts knocking his shots down, his teammates will give him a lot more.

 

[dude12]

They worked him out as veteran insurance at the position. No more, no less! Not bad thinking when your starter is in his second year, and his backup is a rookie.

I agree.....and this goes back to the draft where many people thought it best that we take Elfrid Payton and sign a vet SG. Not necessarily a knock on Stauskas as much as they may wanted to hedge against both young guys struggling. And not necessarily for Payton to start as I'm sure everyone now can be happy with the Collison signing.

 

[beb0p]

At some point this season, somebody at the wing position is going to get hurt, misses time; and then it's Nik's time to shine. It's up to him to make the most of it.

In the meantime, he's getting around 13 mins a game, that's not too bad for a rookie.

Just needs to keep getting stronger and adjusting to the NBA speed. This kid is way too good not to play; at some point this season or next, he will force his way into the rotation. That's my prediction.

.

 

[bajaden]

I was not being a smartass, but sorry if it rubbed off wrong. Stauskas shouldn't get any minutes if he can't contribute. I'm comparing the circumstances when she asked is it because "he's a rookie?" Nik isn't going to get PT just because he's our 8th overall pick was my point. In the NBA, you have to prove yourself worthy of PT. It doesn't come easy. Nik's problem goes beyond missing shots. His problem is that he's ineffective on both ends of the floor. The last few games, Nik has taken a lot of airballs. Those airballs do not help at all when he's getting burned bad on defense. It makes him look even worse than he actually is.

I think fans want instant results because Nik was suggested as one of the most NBA ready players. I, myself didn't expect him to get a lot of PT this year. However, I did expect him to knock down a few more shots. Malone has been really patient with Nik, until the Pelicans game happened. I read that you were the grader of Nik for that game? He was terrible flat out. There's a reason why he was benched the following game. I think Coach is going to come with a different approach now. He's going to award guys who he thinks are worthy of PT. I think he wants to play players that will help our team win.

The best thing Nik can do right now is start hitting his shots. Once he starts knocking his shots down, his teammates will give him a lot more.

It's not my intent to get into an adversarial thing with you, and perhaps I misunderstood you. You do come on a little strong. You seem to be obsessed with Nik's shooting, where I don't worry about it at all. I watched him play in college for two years, and I know the kid can shoot. Give him 14 shots a game, and I guaranteed he'll shoot close to or above 40% from the three. Now we both know that's not going to happen, and that makes is tough for him. So, he has to adjust. I'm actually agreeing with you on the playing time. Right now Nik is feeling pressure to make his shots, and as a result, he's looking over his shoulder. As I said, once you start thinking about your shot, your doomed.

Yes, I did grade the New Orleans game, and I'm not sure exactly what you were watching if you thought Nik was horrible at both ends of the floor. Defensively he had some problems when he started getting posted up, predominately in the second half, but until then, he was holding his own. He wasn't great, but he wasn't horrible. Just my opinion. On offense he took four shots and made two. He was one for one from the three. My problem with him in that game, and also the last game we played is that he's a little too unselfish. He passed up three open shots in the New Orleans game, and four open shots in the last game. I don't have a problem if he can get a chippy assist, but other wise, take the dammed shot. There was one game we lost where Nik played around 8 minutes total, and yet on the forum, a lot of the discussion was about Nik and his defense, as though he lost the dammed game for us. Yeah, he struggled in that game, but he was hardly responsible for the loss

I don't think he's as bad a defender as many are making him out to be. He's ahead of where McLemore was at the same time last season. Yeah, I know, that's not saying much. Yes, there are times he gets beat off the dribble, but not that often. And there's not a player in this league that doesn't get beat off the dribble from time to time. Mostly, he gets caught in screens, and that's where the strength factor comes in. He just needs to get stronger. And that's going to take some time.

As far as playing time goes, right now I think Malone is looking at the matchups. I doubt he would have put him in and had him try and guard Wiggins. So yeah, I think Malone is going to pick his spots and still try to get him experience, without putting the game in jeopardy. Look, I don't have a dog in this hunt. I'm not against criticism as long as its fair. If your going to notice the bad things a player does, then take note of the good things he does as well, and by you, I'm speaking generally. I guess we'll just have to respectfully disagree on some of these things.

 

[bajaden]

I agree.....and this goes back to the draft where many people thought it best that we take Elfrid Payton and sign a vet SG. Not necessarily a knock on Stauskas as much as they may wanted to hedge against both young guys struggling. And not necessarily for Payton to start as I'm sure everyone now can be happy with the Collison signing.

If I have to choose between drafting Payton, or signing Collison the answer is obvious. Of course that wasn't the choice. Look, I was a fan of Payton's, and I could have lived with the choice. But to my mind, it didn't make any sense. We already had McCallum, who right now is probably more ready to play in the NBA than Payton is, despite the minutes he's getting right now. The Kings were looking for a veteran PG, so Payton wasn't going to start, or even be the backup, so why draft him. We had no depth at SG, and to be honest. Stauskas was more NBA ready than Payton was, despite what's going on right now. I think the two hardest positions to play in the NBA are center and PG, with PG taking the longest to develop. We already have one PG were developing, I don't think we need two.

Of course Payton would have helped defensively, but offensively, he's horrible from the three. That was my biggest knock on him. I don't know what it is with these young PG's. Some of them are just terrible outside shooters. Especially the super athletic one's.

 

[Glenn]

I see no urgency on Nik to get his act together. It will take awhile as it does with all rookies. From what I have seen in other sources, he is a pretty good athlete. He has a vry eal possibilt of being a decent NBA player. There is no reason to dump him in some fashion.

 

[VF21]

he had a chance, and he blew it because he's not ready.

i think the best course of action is to bring in a veteran SG.

HE'S A ROOKIE. He's supposed to make rookie mistakes. He'll learn from them.

 

[VF21]

And you know this how? Maybe people think the guy can handle, make good decisions and play D. Just my guess.

Reports are that the Kings looked at Williams several times. If they wanted him, we'd have him by now. I agree with New Era. I do not think he has the character Malone and the front office are looking for.

 

[jdbraver]

Reports are that the Kings looked at Williams several times. If they wanted him, we'd have him by now. I agree with New Era. I do not think he has the character Malone and the front office are looking for.

I'm Not gonna judge a guy I don't know especially on hearsay or assumptions. Quite frankly if the front office were so worried about having character guys cuz would have been gone long ago. Talents wins games.

 

[VF21]

I'm Not gonna judge a guy I don't know especially on hearsay or assumptions. Quite frankly if the front office were so worried about having character guys cuz would have been gone long ago. Talents wins games.

His career thus far (from Wikipedia):

Williams was drafted by the New Jersey Nets with the 11th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and was signed to a four-year contract.[9] In the teams' now annual summer workouts, he dazzled his teammates and coaches with his athleticism, defense, and passing.

He recorded his first career triple-double April 9, 2010, with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Nets double overtime win over the Chicago Bulls 127–116.[10]

On November 26, 2010, the Nets sent Williams to the Springfield Armor of the NBA D-League.[11] Williams was recalled on December 7, 2010.[12]

On December 15, 2010, Williams was traded to the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade involving the Nets and Los Angeles Lakers.[13]

On March 16, 2012, Williams was waived by the Rockets.[14] After being waived by the Rockets, Williams signed a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings on March 21, 2012.[15] He was signed for the remainder of the season on March 31, 2012.[16][17]

In October 2012, Williams joined the Detroit Pistons for their training camp.[18] On October 22, 2012 Williams was waived by the Detroit Pistons.[19]

In November 2012, he joined the Guangdong Southern Tigers of China.[20] He left the Tigers in February 2013.

On February 20, 2013, Williams signed a 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics.[21] On March 3, 2013, Williams re-signed to a multi-year contract with the Celtics.[22] On June 30, 2013, he was waived by the Celtics.[23]

In October 2013, he signed with Türk Telekom.[24] He parted ways with them on November 14, after playing only two games in Turkish Basketball League.[25]

On December 31, 2013, he was acquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders.[26] He set the D-Fenders franchise single-game scoring record with 50 points on January 31, 2014 against the Idaho Stampede, surpassing 49 earlier that season by Manny Harris.[27]

In April 2014, he signed with Brujos de Guayama of Puerto Rico.[28] He was waived on May 1, 2014.[29] On May 18, 2014, he signed with Meralco Bolts,[30] but left seven days later after just three games.[31] He then joined Soles de Santo Domingo and Reales de La Vega of the Dominican Republic.

*He was sent down to the D-League by the Nets for repeated violations of team rules, including taking to Twitter to whine and moan about his reduced playing time. He was only brought up when he was traded to the Houston Rockets.

Rick Pitino called him a "freakish athlete". Unfortunately, it seems as though he has the IQ of a kumquat.

From ESPN:

May, 2013 - A judge has set bail at $25,000 for Williams, who was booked into the King County Jail in Seattle early Monday for investigation of assault. Bail was set during an afternoon court appearance, and the judge scheduled another hearing for Wednesday.

According to a police report, the 25-year-old Williams went to the woman's apartment complex in the suburb of Kent to drop the boy off Sunday afternoon and displayed a gun during an argument. The report says Williams denied pointing the gun at anyone and told police he showed it because he felt threatened by the woman and her boyfriend.

Williams, the 11th overall pick of the New Jersey Nets in the 2009 draft, has played for four teams in four NBA seasons and admitted that his own immaturity played a role in his trouble sticking with a team. He played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association at the start of the 2012-13 season before joining Boston upon returning stateside.

There's a pattern in all of that. His freakish athletic ability gets him hired. SOMETHING gets him waived or released within a short period of time. At the time he was waived by Brujos de Guayama, he was averaging 11.8 points, 4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

I'll restate my initial point - IF he had impressed the front office in a positive manner, he'd already be in a Kings uniform. I'm going to trust their judgment since there's a long history of past behavior for them to consider that is probably insider knowledge but not public.

As far as your attempt to compare Cousins to Williams, I'm not even going to dignify that part with a response.

 

[lawlman91]

Stauskas should not be part of any personnel moves. This team needs three point shooting; no question about that. That makes Stauskas so valuable to our team. However, he still has to 1) improve his on-ball defense, and 2) get used to shooting in the NBA. An added bonus: If we want a 3pt shooting line-up, we could have Stauskas as the 1 and McLemore as the 2. Interesting to see how that will turn out.

 

[Albatros]

Did someone really say Nik "had his chance"

good grief.

 

[ESP47]

Who cares? We're in the hunt for the playoffs right now and you want to take a chance on ruining that by trying to develop Stauskas right now? Let him slowly develop off the bench. Right now it seems like he's doing what Ben did in the first few games where he's thinking way too much about his shot. Kid just needs to catch and shoot. Not catch, think and shoot. Not catch, look to pass and then shoot. Not catch, dribble to another spot and shoot. Just catch and shoot.

 

[lawlman91]

Who cares? We're in the hunt for the playoffs right now and you want to take a chance on ruining that by trying to develop Stauskas right now? Let him slowly develop off the bench. Right now it seems like he's doing what Ben did in the first few games where he's thinking way too much about his shot. Kid just needs to catch and shoot. Not catch, think and shoot. Not catch, look to pass and then shoot. Not catch, dribble to another spot and shoot. Just catch and shoot.

In general players need to think about what they want to do before they catch the ball. For him that might mean shoot, drive, or pass, or whatever...

 

[Bricklayer]

Did someone really say Nik "had his chance"

good grief.

I do think he blew A chance at the start of this season. Ben was still awful Ben, all anybody had to do was show up and be decent, professional. Wouldn't have taken a star performance to seize that starting spot. Instead Nik did the intimidated rookie thing, got progressively more timid, and withered away even worse than Ben. There was a golden opportunity though to be starting as a rookie. There was no viable NBA competition. But the just didn't have it in him yet.

That of course is not what the "he had his chance" narrative is aiming at, but if were Nik, or his agent, or anybody around him, its the one that would have me kicking myself.

 

[bajaden]

I do think he blew A chance at the start of this season. Ben was still awful Ben, all anybody had to do was show up and be decent, professional. Wouldn't have taken a star performance to seize that starting spot. Instead Nik did the intimidated rookie thing, got progressively more timid, and withered away even worse than Ben. There was a golden opportunity though to be starting as a rookie. There was no viable NBA competition. But the just didn't have it in him yet.

That of course is not what the "he had his chance" narrative is aiming at, but if were Nik, or his agent, or anybody around him, its the one that would have me kicking myself.

Probably better that he didn't get the starting nod. Sometimes its better to fly under the radar for a while. Less pressure, and a chance to observe. I mean it would have been great if he had come out of the gate with guns blazing, but its rare for a rookie to do that. It's not like he was a top five pick. Knock on wood, but McLemore is starting to look legitmate. If Nik can make the adjustment and become reliable within this season, then we don't have to worry about the SG spot for a while. We might even end up with a valuable trade chip.

 

[macadocious]

Probably better that he didn't get the starting nod. Sometimes its better to fly under the radar for a while. Less pressure, and a chance to observe. I mean it would have been great if he had come out of the gate with guns blazing, but its rare for a rookie to do that. It's not like he was a top five pick. Knock on wood, but McLemore is starting to look legitmate. If Nik can make the adjustment and become reliable within this season, then we don't have to worry about the SG spot for a while. We might even end up with a valuable trade chip.

If Nik progresses like you (and I) think he will and should, and Ben + Ray as well, along with Collison, there is all your backcourt minutes and some 3 small ball mixed in on occasion. It *could become one of the best backcourts in the NBA.

 

[Livinthedream]

I think the red flag with Nik and how this year was going to be was when he mentioned how people were going to come at him because of this and that. I'm not speaking of the social issue regarding that statement. But it gave some insight into his line of thinking at that time. I think he was a little shell shocked and was looking for ways to rationalize what just happened to him. He needed to realize that it wasn't about him. It's a business and wins, losses and points can equate to millions of dollars. Players and coaches go after weakness so they can get their win. They want to beat the Kings, so they find a weakness. They'll talk about your mom if it get's in your head.

It is no different than the number 1 pick in the draft, after a bad game, saying that everyone is coming after him because he's the top pick. Now the other players are really going to go at you because you showed a moment of weakness. Even Cousins had to realize that complaining to the refs and getting techs was a sign of mental weakness as it related to the game and the other teams were using it against him. It was in their game plan. So until Nik stops with the hang dog look, or shocked expression every time a ticky tack foul gets called on him, it's not going to stop. Nik has to realize that he's not going to stop the other players on the defensive end because he's physically overmatched. He needs to use what got him in the league and go after his opponent on the offensive end. Fight back and stop appearing to play the victim. Refs are human beings too, and if you appear to be backing down, they call fouls in favor of the aggressor. They have to see some fight in you. If Nik wants a chance, he needs to make a chance.