What about Nik Stauskas?

[Capt. Factorial]

I don't see the comparison between Nik and Klay in college except for the fact that they both played SG and they were great shooters in college. I'm really exhausted by their comparisons Bajaden. Klay was a much more dominant player for WSU than Nik was at Mich. I think that's one of the biggest difference between the two players.

Nik hasn't played well so far this year - nobody is disputing that. But trying to compare Nik's final season in college straight up with Klay's just doesn't work.

Did Klay have a "more dominant scoring role"? Yes! But look at his team and his teammates. Klay played at Washington State - a perennial doormat of Pac-10/12 basketball on a team that went .500 in conference, finishing sixth out of ten and not getting invited to the NCAA tournament. Other standout players on Washington State that year included Brock Motum (extra credit if you know what position he played) and nobody else I can ever even remember hearing of despite the fact that I watched the Pac-10 that season.

Nik played his final season for a Michigan team that won the Big Ten, got a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament, and got to the Elite Eight before losing to Kentucky. On this team, Nik had to compete for shots with not only two fellow 2014 draftees (Mitch McGary #21; Glenn Robinson #40) but also a presumptive 2015 lottery pick in Caris LeVert.

The role that Nik was asked to play on a great Michigan team was not even remotely close to the role Klay was asked to play on an NIT Washington State team. Though I will give you that - Klay Thompson is the only reason Washington State made the NIT that year.

I don't know where you get the notion that Nik is athletic. If you're 6'6, you should be able to dunk as a NBA player. Nik is not atheltic by any means and it's the biggest knock on him. Not only is he not athletic, he lacks any type of speed whether it's foot speed, lateral quickness, foot speed, or etc. He struggled a lot against bigger and more athletic defenders because he couldn't shake defenders off of him.

Nik is able to dunk - in NBA games, no less. Perhaps you've missed it, but he's done it several times, not just on the break but on baseline drives as well. Nik is far more athletic than he gets credit for. Athleticism is clearly not his dominant trait, but given his shooting (what we expect it to be, that is) his athleticism is certainly sufficient to keep him in the game. Don't assign Jimmer's faults to Nik - they're not the same person.

 

[pshn80]

I don't see the comparison between Nik and Klay in college except for the fact that they both played SG and they were great shooters in college. I'm really exhausted by their comparisons Bajaden. Klay was a much more dominant player for WSU than Nik was at Mich. I think that's one of the biggest difference between the two players.

Klay shot a whole lot at WSU with a ton of confidence. He had much more of a dominant role scoring vs Nik did at Michigan.

Here's their per 40 stats. Nik played 35.6mpg while Klay played 34.7mpg. They played pretty close minutes. These stats show that Klay and Nik were good playmakers, but Klay had the edge. However, Klay turned the ball over a lot more than Nik. Almost twice as much.

• Per 40 points stats

1. Nik: 19.7pts 3.3rebs 3.7asts 0.6stls 0.3blk 2.1tos
   
2. Klay: 24.9pts 6rebs 4.3asts 1.9stls 1.1blk 3.9tos

Here are their shot attempts. It clearly shows that Klay took more shots than Nik per game. He had a huge scoring instinct and was not afraid to shoot anytime he had the ball.

• Shot attempts per game(final year in college):

1. Nik: 10.9 FGA 5.7 FTA
   
2. Klay: 16.2FGA 5.4FTA

• Shot attempts per 100 possession:

1. Nik: 19.7 FGA 10.4 FTA
2. Klay: 27.3FGA 9.2FTA

-The most shot attempts Nik has ever taken in a game is 21 including fouls that would have resulted in a FG.
-The most shot attempts Klay has ever taken in a game is 32 including fouls that would have resulted in a FG.

My entire point of those stats were to show that Nik was not the same dominant scorer nor player Klay was in college. He was a more efficient scorer, but not the same dominate scorer.
The biggest stat of all that supports this is the amount of times where each player has scored at LEAST 24pts. I think 24pts is a fair number when talking about dominate scoring numbers at the collegiate level.

• Amount of times where the player has scored at LEAST 24pts in a game(final year)

1. Nik: 7times
   
2. Klay 13times

Shooting wise, Nik has never "gone off" in a college game. His career high in his final year was 26pts. Klay's high was 43.

Klay had a much bigger role at WSU. On offense, Klay was great moving without the ball. He was constantly moving around and running. Nik was only decent off the ball. There's many times where he would just stand in the corner at the 3pt line and watch. Unless there was a play called for him, he usually just stood at the corner. Klay was always looking to cut or get open.

I don't know where you get the notion that Nik is athletic. If you're 6'6, you should be able to dunk as a NBA player. Nik is not atheltic by any means and it's the biggest knock on him. Not only is he not athletic, he lacks any type of speed whether it's foot speed, lateral quickness, foot speed, or etc. He struggled a lot against bigger and more athletic defenders because he couldn't shake defenders off of him.
Defense was a huge problem for Nik at Michigan. His lack of quickness was exposed by a lot of guards. He mostly guarded the weakest and slowest guys on the floor.

Klay's knock on him was lack of athleticism. It wasn't that he had 0 athleticism, people thought he wasn't athletic enough. BUT it was never lack of speed or lateral quickness. He always had the quickness, it was just a matter of how much hops he had. He was actually improving tremendously on defense and was solidifying his role on that end of the floor as you can see by his stats.

Klay came out of college as someone who was unafraid to shoot anything that came into his direction. Both are very different players. Both are different in terms of aggressiveness, physicality, athleticsm, and defense. The numbers stand out for themselves.

Nik has always been more passive than Klay in college. That's another difference.

Please stop comparing players just based on the fact that they were SGs.... I can name a ton of things that are similar about Ben and Klay too.

They are not similar players.

If you feel differently, please tell me why because I'm tired of their comparisons. Klay was a much more dominate scorer than Nik in college.

I think what I am reading is that they were both very good in college and each played an important roll on their teams and both were successful. Your stats encourage me about what a good pick Nik was and what potential he has. Hang in there with him.

 

[randymoss1881]

Then consider that the Head Coach the owner had chosen was a Defensive Guru. You would think the Owner, His Advisor and GM would bring in players that would play to the Strength of the Head Coach.

I like Nik's game and think he can find a place in the NBA. Payton would be a huge help right now defending the wing players. Ben and Payton would be quite a defensive back court duo.

Magic knee this so they paired him with oladipo

 

[206Fan]

Nik hasn't played well so far this year - nobody is disputing that. But trying to compare Nik's final season in college straight up with Klay's just doesn't work.

Did Klay have a "more dominant scoring role"? Yes! But look at his team and his teammates. Klay played at Washington State - a perennial doormat of Pac-10/12 basketball on a team that went .500 in conference, finishing sixth out of ten and not getting invited to the NCAA tournament. Other standout players on Washington State that year included Brock Motum (extra credit if you know what position he played) and nobody else I can ever even remember hearing of despite the fact that I watched the Pac-10 that season.

Nik played his final season for a Michigan team that won the Big Ten, got a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament, and got to the Elite Eight before losing to Kentucky. On this team, Nik had to compete for shots with not only two fellow 2014 draftees (Mitch McGary #21; Glenn Robinson #40) but also a presumptive 2015 lottery pick in Caris LeVert.

The role that Nik was asked to play on a great Michigan team was not even remotely close to the role Klay was asked to play on an NIT Washington State team. Though I will give you that - Klay Thompson is the only reason Washington State made the NIT that year.



Nik is able to dunk - in NBA games, no less. Perhaps you've missed it, but he's done it several times, not just on the break but on baseline drives as well. Nik is far more athletic than he gets credit for. Athleticism is clearly not his dominant trait, but given his shooting (what we expect it to be, that is) his athleticism is certainly sufficient to keep him in the game. Don't assign Jimmer's faults to Nik - they're not the same person.

They're both different types of scorers who get compared to a lot. We both already pointed out that each had a different role in college. I think the comparison between the two is a lot on Nik. It's like when people compare Ben to Ray Allen. Nik and Klay were both different players in college. I do not see the comparison between the two players aside from the fact that they're both SGs who were able to shoot lights out.

Nik is not Jimmer, but Jimmer's lack of any type of speed is the main reason why he's been a bust in the pros. Nik's lack of speed is concerning when you think about why Jimmer failed.

I just don't like the comparison between the two players even in college.

 

[HndsmCelt]

I always give a first year player a break, some catch on quick some need more time. The fact that Malone was high on him based on what he showed in practice gives me some comfort.

 

[funkykingston]

One of Nik's issues is that he needs to build muscle and generally be in better shape for the NBA.

Of the players drafted last year, only Kyle Anderson had a higher body fat percentage. He was at 13.4% while Stauskas was at 12.1% For reference, people claimed that Shabazz Muhammed was overweight and out of shape and he came in at 9% body fat.

Ben came in at 5% body fat. So while Nik weighed 207 lbs at the combine and Ben weighed 189 lbs, their lean body masses were only 2.4 lbs apart (182 vs 176.6) even though Stauskas is nearly 2 inches taller. It also means Nik is carrying 15 lbs more fat on his frame than Ben.

And despite that, Nik matched Ben in the sprint, was faster in then agility drill and had a respectable 35" vertical. If he puts in the time in the weight room and with his offseason conditioning I think Nik has the size and athleticism to defend at the NBA level. But he'll have to put in the work.

After all, Boogie came in to the combine at 290 lbs and a 16% body fat. I think part of his improvement, especially on the defensive end is attributable to him getting in better shape. Well, that and Malone's coaching . . .
​

 

[Warhawk]

I don't know where you get the notion that Nik is athletic. If you're 6'6, you should be able to dunk as a NBA player. Nik is not atheltic by any means and it's the biggest knock on him.

Go to about 1:00 into this video:

Or this:

http://www.nba.com/video/games/kings/2014/12/27/0021400451-nyk-sac-play4.nba/

And I know I've seen video somewhere of him doing through the leg dunks in practice. He's athletic enough. He's just a rookie trying to figure out the grown man's game.

 

[bajaden]

I don't see the comparison between Nik and Klay in college except for the fact that they both played SG and they were great shooters in college. I'm really exhausted by their comparisons Bajaden. Klay was a much more dominant player for WSU than Nik was at Mich. I think that's one of the biggest difference between the two players.

Klay shot a whole lot at WSU with a ton of confidence. He had much more of a dominant role scoring vs Nik did at Michigan.

Here's their per 40 stats. Nik played 35.6mpg while Klay played 34.7mpg. They played pretty close minutes. These stats show that Klay and Nik were good playmakers, but Klay had the edge. However, Klay turned the ball over a lot more than Nik. Almost twice as much.

• Per 40 points stats

1. Nik: 19.7pts 3.3rebs 3.7asts 0.6stls 0.3blk 2.1tos
   
2. Klay: 24.9pts 6rebs 4.3asts 1.9stls 1.1blk 3.9tos

Here are their shot attempts. It clearly shows that Klay took more shots than Nik per game. He had a huge scoring instinct and was not afraid to shoot anytime he had the ball.

• Shot attempts per game(final year in college):

1. Nik: 10.9 FGA 5.7 FTA
   
2. Klay: 16.2FGA 5.4FTA

• Shot attempts per 100 possession:

1. Nik: 19.7 FGA 10.4 FTA
2. Klay: 27.3FGA 9.2FTA

-The most shot attempts Nik has ever taken in a game is 21 including fouls that would have resulted in a FG.
-The most shot attempts Klay has ever taken in a game is 32 including fouls that would have resulted in a FG.

My entire point of those stats were to show that Nik was not the same dominant scorer nor player Klay was in college. He was a more efficient scorer, but not the same dominate scorer.
The biggest stat of all that supports this is the amount of times where each player has scored at LEAST 24pts. I think 24pts is a fair number when talking about dominate scoring numbers at the collegiate level.

• Amount of times where the player has scored at LEAST 24pts in a game(final year)

1. Nik: 7times
   
2. Klay 13times

Shooting wise, Nik has never "gone off" in a college game. His career high in his final year was 26pts. Klay's high was 43.

Klay had a much bigger role at WSU. On offense, Klay was great moving without the ball. He was constantly moving around and running. Nik was only decent off the ball. There's many times where he would just stand in the corner at the 3pt line and watch. Unless there was a play called for him, he usually just stood at the corner. Klay was always looking to cut or get open.

I don't know where you get the notion that Nik is athletic. If you're 6'6, you should be able to dunk as a NBA player. Nik is not atheltic by any means and it's the biggest knock on him. Not only is he not athletic, he lacks any type of speed whether it's foot speed, lateral quickness, foot speed, or etc. He struggled a lot against bigger and more athletic defenders because he couldn't shake defenders off of him.
Defense was a huge problem for Nik at Michigan. His lack of quickness was exposed by a lot of guards. He mostly guarded the weakest and slowest guys on the floor.

Klay's knock on him was lack of athleticism. It wasn't that he had 0 athleticism, people thought he wasn't athletic enough. BUT it was never lack of speed or lateral quickness. He always had the quickness, it was just a matter of how much hops he had. He was actually improving tremendously on defense and was solidifying his role on that end of the floor as you can see by his stats.

Klay came out of college as someone who was unafraid to shoot anything that came into his direction. Both are very different players. Both are different in terms of aggressiveness, physicality, athleticsm, and defense. The numbers stand out for themselves.

Nik has always been more passive than Klay in college. That's another difference.

Please stop comparing players just based on the fact that they were SGs.... I can name a ton of things that are similar about Ben and Klay too.

They are not similar players.

If you feel differently, please tell me why because I'm tired of their comparisons. Klay was a much more dominate scorer than Nik in college.

Like the way you cherry pick stats and then arrange them to suit your needs. First off, I watche both Klay and Nik play over 25 times each in college, and I place more value on that than a bunch of stats. Now my intent is not to disparage Klay, but to shed a little light on the BS you just posted. You left out a couple of important things there pal.

In Klay's final year at Wash St. he shot 43.6% overall from the floor compared to Nik's 47.0%. Klay only took 2.9 three point attempts per game, and shot 39.8% from there. Which is a very good shooting percentage from the three. But Nik took 5.8 three point shots per game and averaged 44.2% from there. So Nik took almost twice as many shots from the three, and averaged 4.4 % points higher. Yes, Klay took more shots per game, but Nik was far more efficient with his shots. Klay and Nik averaged close to the same amouth of assists, but Klay turned the ball over almost twice as much as Nik.

There was a reason that Nik didn't take as many shots as Klay. He was on a far better team, and he spent more time playing the ball distributer. He's a very unselfish player, which unfortunately doesn't help him on the Kings because he's surrounded by a group of iso players that dominate the ball. Nik is a very smart player and does a lot of things that the average fan doesn't see, or does see and doesn't even know what he's doing. Shooters need to get into a rhythm. Nik gets a shot, and then might not touch the ball again until the second half. Rudy misses a shot, and no problem, he just takes another shot, and then another. He might miss his first 5 shots, but at the end of the game he ends up 9 for 18. If Nik misses 4 or 5 shots, he ends up zero for five.

Now I'm not saying that Nik needs to get 18 shots. His time will come, just like Ben's getting more shots this season. But how you look at him has to be within the prospective the entire picture. My biggest issue with Nik coming into this year was how good or bad his defense might be. And it's been better than I expected. Is it good enough? Hell no! He has a long way to go, but on the whole, for a rookie not particularly know for defense, he's been better than expected. Every year it seems we have to have a whipping boy, and this year its Nik. Last year it was Ben. And if all else fails, there's always JT to fall back on.

Just for the record. I'm not the only one that saw comparisons between Nik and Klay. Just about every NBA scout made the same comparison.

 

[bajaden]

They're both different types of scorers who get compared to a lot. We both already pointed out that each had a different role in college. I think the comparison between the two is a lot on Nik. It's like when people compare Ben to Ray Allen. Nik and Klay were both different players in college. I do not see the comparison between the two players aside from the fact that they're both SGs who were able to shoot lights out.

Nik is not Jimmer, but Jimmer's lack of any type of speed is the main reason why he's been a bust in the pros. Nik's lack of speed is concerning when you think about why Jimmer failed.

I just don't like the comparison between the two players even in college.

Ben is a freak athlete and there's no comparing Nik to Ben in that area. But Nik is fine as far as athleticism goes. He had a good vertical at the combine, and his quickness and lateral tests were above average. If Nik gets stronger, and into NBA shape, he'll improve on what athleticism he has. I would like to point out to you that the reservations scouts had about Nik were mostly about his ability to play defense at the NBA level. I would also like to point out that they had the identical reservations about Klay. Klay has turned into a good defender. That doesn't mean Nik will, but if he works hard, there's no reason he can't become a decent to good defender. Klay's a gym rat and so is Nik, as is Ben. Those kind of players tend to improve year to year.

As far as this dunking thing goes, I'm starting to believe that you never saw Nik play at Mich. While most of his shots were away from the basket, he dunked the ball many times. Not sure why you intent on beating up on NIk. He's hardly responsible for whats happening with the team. As for drafting Payton over Nik. I would have been OK with that, but my preference was Nik, mostly because I thought he was more NBA ready, and because I didn't think we needed to draft another PG. And, frankly I'm a little tired of players that can't shoot the ball. Especially those that can't shoot, but insist on shooting anyway. (Marcus Smart)

 

[randymoss1881]

I do like Nik but man Peyton is a triple double threat who plays defense and makes his teammates better.

 

[rainmaker]

I don't see why there's so much whining about Nik. His biggest problem is he's physically not able to compete with grown men and is a rook learning the ropes.

But as far as talent, I have a fair amount of confidence in what my eyes tell me and that is that he has clear NBA talent and will be a good player in this league. His stroke is pure, just has little confidence right now and doesn't see the rock enough to get a rhythm. I don't think he should see the rock that much at this point either as he's not ready for that. But he's also got the handle to get his own shot which is this league is extremely valuable when combined with his shooting ability. That's why Steph is unguardable, it's not just that he's the best pure shooter in the game, it's also that unlike a Korver or Reggie Miller or Ray Allen, among others, he can get his own shot any damn time he pleases. That's not to say Nik will be anything close to Steph, just that skillset in quite valuable.

He's also got a fair amount of athleticism, just can't finish inside due to a lack of strength. That should improve over time. Also a smart player who sees the floor well and can pass off the bounce. The kid is versatile.

I do see more Manu in Nik than Klay, maybe even Gordon Hayward. Klay didn't have the handle Nik has when coming into the league and isn't as comfortable attacking off the bounce, running P&Rs, getting into the lane as a passing threat. Nik doesn't belong in the same sentence as Manu but if I was asked which player did Nik model his game after while growing up, it'd be Manu over Klay without a doubt. Skillset is similar, just a mater of can it translate to this level. I'm also not sure Nik has Manu's mentality, a balls to the wall assassin in his younger days, fearless. But time will tell. Comfort means a lot, as we're seeing with Ben and the first year in this league can be quite rough and shatter your confidence. I'll add that Nik is 21. Manu at 21 was finding his was in Italy and didn't come over for another four years. None of this means Nik will reach anything close to Manu but rather, we won't know what we really have with him for another 2-3 years. And I'd rather wait on a guy with a clear, valuable NBA skillset to develop rather than waiting on a real athletic guy with a broken jumper and poor basketball IQ to hopefully figure it out. The upside is that if it does work out in a few years and Ben continues his development, Nik could slide into a valuable and versatile 6th man role ala Manu.

I generally expect this to be a very rough year for Nik but to take a pretty good step next year. The problem this year is our bench is so poor and our depth so absent that we're focusing on a player who in all honesty shouldn't be playing much right now.

Also, when it comes to discerning talent at this level, the big jump and what it takes to succeed, many times what success is based on is what windows in the NBA game your skillset allows you to create, unless you're a pure role player with an extremely defined role. It's also what you can do when those windows are created. Nik's skillset naturally will allow him to create more windows on the court, it's more a mater of him figuring out where and when those windows will come, as the game is quicker and which windows are a 1st, 2nd or 3rd option. There's spots and windows on the floor where a guy like Steph or Wall will see 5-8 options, 5-8 opportunities in a split second, whereas lesser players without the handle or ability to pull up will only see 1-2 opportunities. And it's a chain reaction, knowing if you crossover here or jab there, hesitate and get into the gap, you're creating more options, options you're comfortable with and looking for. Without a skillset to create that chain reaction, those windows come and go unnoticed. You find trouble where another finds opportunity. And like I said, I'd rather wait on a guy with the skillset to get up to the NBA speed rather than hope another guy will develop the tools in the first place. I actually think the NBA has gone away from fundamentally sound players for so long and propped up athleticism that some don't recognize a fundamentally sound player when he arrives. As Kobe talked about yesterday, Nik looks like he was developed in Europe, not AAU. But he's also got more athleticism and a better handle than a number of Euro players. We've just got to be patient.

Now, back on the road.

 

[Amit149]

Ben is a freak athlete and there's no comparing Nik to Ben in that area. But Nik is fine as far as athleticism goes. He had a good vertical at the combine, and his quickness and lateral tests were above average. If Nik gets stronger, and into NBA shape, he'll improve on what athleticism he has. I would like to point out to you that the reservations scouts had about Nik were mostly about his ability to play defense at the NBA level. I would also like to point out that they had the identical reservations about Klay. Klay has turned into a good defender. That doesn't mean Nik will, but if he works hard, there's no reason he can't become a decent to good defender. Klay's a gym rat and so is Nik, as is Ben. Those kind of players tend to improve year to year.

As far as this dunking thing goes, I'm starting to believe that you never saw Nik play at Mich. While most of his shots were away from the basket, he dunked the ball many times. Not sure why you intent on beating up on NIk. He's hardly responsible for whats happening with the team. As for drafting Payton over Nik. I would have been OK with that, but my preference was Nik, mostly because I thought he was more NBA ready, and because I didn't think we needed to draft another PG. And, frankly I'm a little tired of players that can't shoot the ball. Especially those that can't shoot, but insist on shooting anyway. (Marcus Smart)

I agree with most of your comment, but I just can't see how drafting Nik is a good idea when you have Ben on the team already. can they play together? if Nik will get better (and I believe he will) what do you do with PT? you give when of them minutes at PG? SF? I just don't see the fit.

Peyton can't shoot, but he can do other things very well:
He's 9th in the league in Rebound Rate for a PG, 12th in Assist Ratio, 16th at Steal Pct.

Sure he is not NBA ready, and far from a perfect player which you can see by his below average 11.22 PER, his TO Ratio tied with JT at number 306 and his terrible 42.4 TS% ranked 332 out of 344 qualified players.
But he got the potential to be a very good PG in the not-so-far future and he was a much better fit compared to Nik.

 

[206Fan]

Like the way you cherry pick stats and then arrange them to suit your needs. First off, I watche both Klay and Nik play over 25 times each in college, and I place more value on that than a bunch of stats. Now my intent is not to disparage Klay, but to shed a little light on the BS you just posted. You left out a couple of important things there pal.

In Klay's final year at Wash St. he shot 43.6% overall from the floor compared to Nik's 47.0%. Klay only took 2.9 three point attempts per game, and shot 39.8% from there. Which is a very good shooting percentage from the three. But Nik took 5.8 three point shots per game and averaged 44.2% from there. So Nik took almost twice as many shots from the three, and averaged 4.4 % points higher. Yes, Klay took more shots per game, but Nik was far more efficient with his shots. Klay and Nik averaged close to the same amouth of assists, but Klay turned the ball over almost twice as much as Nik.

There was a reason that Nik didn't take as many shots as Klay. He was on a far better team, and he spent more time playing the ball distributer. He's a very unselfish player, which unfortunately doesn't help him on the Kings because he's surrounded by a group of iso players that dominate the ball. Nik is a very smart player and does a lot of things that the average fan doesn't see, or does see and doesn't even know what he's doing. Shooters need to get into a rhythm. Nik gets a shot, and then might not touch the ball again until the second half. Rudy misses a shot, and no problem, he just takes another shot, and then another. He might miss his first 5 shots, but at the end of the game he ends up 9 for 18. If Nik misses 4 or 5 shots, he ends up zero for five.

Now I'm not saying that Nik needs to get 18 shots. His time will come, just like Ben's getting more shots this season. But how you look at him has to be within the prospective the entire picture. My biggest issue with Nik coming into this year was how good or bad his defense might be. And it's been better than I expected. Is it good enough? Hell no! He has a long way to go, but on the whole, for a rookie not particularly know for defense, he's been better than expected. Every year it seems we have to have a whipping boy, and this year its Nik. Last year it was Ben. And if all else fails, there's always JT to fall back on.

Just for the record. I'm not the only one that saw comparisons between Nik and Klay. Just about every NBA scout made the same comparison.

I did not cherry pick my stats. I provided their stats per 40 which is more than fair enough considering each player played around 35minutes their final year. I provided their game stats AND their FG attempts per game and I even included their FG attempts per 100 possessions to give you an idea of the type of scorer Klay was really in college. Nik and Klay both had different roles in college and I don't see how they're similar when you compare what each did.

You are wrong. I've pointed out that Nik was a much more efficient shooter than Klay, and your stats you've provided are incorrect.

Here are both of their 3pt shooting numbers per 40mins:

1. Nik 6.5 3PT attempts .442%
2. Klay 8.3 3PT attempts .398%

Your stats are wrong because you put the amount of 3pters he made per game. 2.9 3pt attempts is really bad number considering how many 3pters Klay really did take.

Nik was a more efficient scorer with a .65% TS vs Klay's .58%, but my argument the entire time was that Klay was a much more dominate scorer in college than Nik was.

I did not cherry pick any stats and it wasn't BS. Again, you've stated Klay only attempted 2.9 3pt attempts and anyone who has watched him at WSU would know off that bat, that 2.9 is a beyond silly number. It's like trying to tell someone AD only had 2blks per game at Kentucky when we all know he was a completely dominate shot blocker that had at least 3.

My entire point of that post was to show that Nik and Klay were both different players in college. You've helped me with that by including that they played a different role on offense for their teams. You've said nothing that shows me Nik is similar to Klay in college. Klay was obviously the much more dominate scorer. Stats back that up. If you're telling me they're similar players because they both can shoot, I can say that about Nik and Kobe too.

A lot of people compared Nik to Klay. That was my entire point of my posts lol. I'm trying to show that Klay and Nik were not similar players coming out of college. Thompson has always had a knack for scoring and it translated very nicely through his rookie year. Stauskas right now probably has 0 confidence in his shot.

Again, I'm not saying Stauskas is doomed Bajaden. I'm saying his comparisons to Klay have always been ridiculous because A) They had different roles B) Different size and C) Defense

 

[206Fan]

I don't see why there's so much whining about Nik. His biggest problem is he's physically not able to compete with grown men and is a rook learning the ropes.

But as far as talent, I have a fair amount of confidence in what my eyes tell me and that is that he has clear NBA talent and will be a good player in this league. His stroke is pure, just has little confidence right now and doesn't see the rock enough to get a rhythm. I don't think he should see the rock that much at this point either as he's not ready for that. But he's also got the handle to get his own shot which is this league is extremely valuable when combined with his shooting ability. That's why Steph is unguardable, it's not just that he's the best pure shooter in the game, it's also that unlike a Korver or Reggie Miller or Ray Allen, among others, he can get his own shot any damn time he pleases. That's not to say Nik will be anything close to Steph, just that skillset in quite valuable.

He's also got a fair amount of athleticism, just can't finish inside due to a lack of strength. That should improve over time. Also a smart player who sees the floor well and can pass off the bounce. The kid is versatile.

I do see more Manu in Nik than Klay, maybe even Gordon Hayward. Klay didn't have the handle Nik has when coming into the league and isn't as comfortable attacking off the bounce, running P&Rs, getting into the lane as a passing threat. Nik doesn't belong in the same sentence as Manu but if I was asked which player did Nik model his game after while growing up, it'd be Manu over Klay without a doubt. Skillset is similar, just a mater of can it translate to this level. I'm also not sure Nik has Manu's mentality, a balls to the wall assassin in his younger days, fearless. But time will tell. Comfort means a lot, as we're seeing with Ben and the first year in this league can be quite rough and shatter your confidence. I'll add that Nik is 21. Manu at 21 was finding his was in Italy and didn't come over for another four years. None of this means Nik will reach anything close to Manu but rather, we won't know what we really have with him for another 2-3 years. And I'd rather wait on a guy with a clear, valuable NBA skillset to develop rather than waiting on a real athletic guy with a broken jumper and poor basketball IQ to hopefully figure it out. The upside is that if it does work out in a few years and Ben continues his development, Nik could slide into a valuable and versatile 6th man role ala Manu.

I generally expect this to be a very rough year for Nik but to take a pretty good step next year. The problem this year is our bench is so poor and our depth so absent that we're focusing on a player who in all honesty shouldn't be playing much right now.

Also, when it comes to discerning talent at this level, the big jump and what it takes to succeed, many times what success is based on is what windows in the NBA game your skillset allows you to create, unless you're a pure role player with an extremely defined role. It's also what you can do when those windows are created. Nik's skillset naturally will allow him to create more windows on the court, it's more a mater of him figuring out where and when those windows will come, as the game is quicker and which windows are a 1st, 2nd or 3rd option. There's spots and windows on the floor where a guy like Steph or Wall will see 5-8 options, 5-8 opportunities in a split second, whereas lesser players without the handle or ability to pull up will only see 1-2 opportunities. And it's a chain reaction, knowing if you crossover here or jab there, hesitate and get into the gap, you're creating more options, options you're comfortable with and looking for. Without a skillset to create that chain reaction, those windows come and go unnoticed. You find trouble where another finds opportunity. And like I said, I'd rather wait on a guy with the skillset to get up to the NBA speed rather than hope another guy will develop the tools in the first place. I actually think the NBA has gone away from fundamentally sound players for so long and propped up athleticism that some don't recognize a fundamentally sound player when he arrives. As Kobe talked about yesterday, Nik looks like he was developed in Europe, not AAU. But he's also got more athleticism and a better handle than a number of Euro players. We've just got to be patient.

Now, back on the road.

Very good posts and I agree with a lot of your points. Right now, Nik is the least of our problems but they all side track us from the FO fiasco. Discussion about real basketball is very good to have at a time like this, even if it means you're putting your rookie in the dog house.

 

[Hadlowe]

I do see more Manu in Nik than Klay, maybe even Gordon Hayward. Klay didn't have the handle Nik has when coming into the league and isn't as comfortable attacking off the bounce, running P&Rs, getting into the lane as a passing threat. Nik doesn't belong in the same sentence as Manu but if I was asked which player did Nik model his game after while growing up, it'd be Manu over Klay without a doubt. Skillset is similar, just a mater of can it translate to this level. I'm also not sure Nik has Manu's mentality, a balls to the wall assassin in his younger days, fearless. But time will tell. Comfort means a lot, as we're seeing with Ben and the first year in this league can be quite rough and shatter your confidence. I'll add that Nik is 21. Manu at 21 was finding his was in Italy and didn't come over for another four years. None of this means Nik will reach anything close to Manu but rather, we won't know what we really have with him for another 2-3 years. And I'd rather wait on a guy with a clear, valuable NBA skillset to develop rather than waiting on a real athletic guy with a broken jumper and poor basketball IQ to hopefully figure it out. The upside is that if it does work out in a few years and Ben continues his development, Nik could slide into a valuable and versatile 6th man role ala Manu.

I like the Manu comparison, although you have to remember that Manu came into the league a seasoned vet at age 25 after having played Euro ball for seven years (and winning a FIBA world championship.) The biggest difference between them is that Manu came into the league as an irrational confidence guy while Nik is nearly the polar opposite of that at this point. I would love to see Nik running ball screens with Landry or Hollins in the second unit, as neither of our backup point guards have shown an ability to really get other teammates involved to this point. Even if he screws up a bunch, it can't really be worse than what we have seen from the bench so far.

 

[kingsboi]

wasn't the exact same thing said last season about Ben? some of us want a Vivek Ranadive instant results but it doesn't happen like that...he is going through growing pains and I'm not worried in the slightest about Nik, if anything he will become a reliable three point threat even if he never learns to play defense or rebound and do little things.

 

[AL/kfan]

I think what I am reading is that they were both very good in college and each played an important roll on their teams and both were successful. Your stats encourage me about what a good pick Nik was and what potential he has. Hang in there with him.

Daily viewer seldom poster. The post on Nik Staukas has got me off my rocking chair to vent my view on his play. Not going to repeat his shabby defense, his horrible [let’s be honest here] shooting his driving to the rim in front of a ten foot giant. I really like the guy but the one thing I really hate is having a young guy like Nik just standing at the corner waiting for a pass so he can launch a three only to have him pass 3 out of 4 times anyway. Yeah maybe the coach told him to stay put but I don’t like it. Nik is a very young kid playing what 10 minutes a game. Heck he should get in there and run non-stop ala Richard Jefferson. Even if he doesn’t score he’ll sure as hell tire the defending guard which will bode well for Ben when he come back in.

 

[lawlman91]

I agree with most of your comment, but I just can't see how drafting Nik is a good idea when you have Ben on the team already. can they play together? if Nik will get better (and I believe he will) what do you do with PT? you give when of them minutes at PG? SF? I just don't see the fit.

Peyton can't shoot, but he can do other things very well:
He's 9th in the league in Rebound Rate for a PG, 12th in Assist Ratio, 16th at Steal Pct.

Sure he is not NBA ready, and far from a perfect player which you can see by his below average 11.22 PER, his TO Ratio tied with JT at number 306 and his terrible 42.4 TS% ranked 332 out of 344 qualified players.
But he got the potential to be a very good PG in the not-so-far future and he was a much better fit compared to Nik.

If he can further his already-existent ball-handling skills, it would be a good idea to run him at the point guard on the offensive end and put him on whoever he can guard in the defensive end. He already has playmaking instincts, too. Like some others have already said, his skillset is a lot like Manu's, who sometimes brings the ball up for the Spurs.

 

[bajaden]

I don't see why there's so much whining about Nik. His biggest problem is he's physically not able to compete with grown men and is a rook learning the ropes.

But as far as talent, I have a fair amount of confidence in what my eyes tell me and that is that he has clear NBA talent and will be a good player in this league. His stroke is pure, just has little confidence right now and doesn't see the rock enough to get a rhythm. I don't think he should see the rock that much at this point either as he's not ready for that. But he's also got the handle to get his own shot which is this league is extremely valuable when combined with his shooting ability. That's why Steph is unguardable, it's not just that he's the best pure shooter in the game, it's also that unlike a Korver or Reggie Miller or Ray Allen, among others, he can get his own shot any damn time he pleases. That's not to say Nik will be anything close to Steph, just that skillset in quite valuable.

He's also got a fair amount of athleticism, just can't finish inside due to a lack of strength. That should improve over time. Also a smart player who sees the floor well and can pass off the bounce. The kid is versatile.

I do see more Manu in Nik than Klay, maybe even Gordon Hayward. Klay didn't have the handle Nik has when coming into the league and isn't as comfortable attacking off the bounce, running P&Rs, getting into the lane as a passing threat. Nik doesn't belong in the same sentence as Manu but if I was asked which player did Nik model his game after while growing up, it'd be Manu over Klay without a doubt. Skillset is similar, just a mater of can it translate to this level. I'm also not sure Nik has Manu's mentality, a balls to the wall assassin in his younger days, fearless. But time will tell. Comfort means a lot, as we're seeing with Ben and the first year in this league can be quite rough and shatter your confidence. I'll add that Nik is 21. Manu at 21 was finding his was in Italy and didn't come over for another four years. None of this means Nik will reach anything close to Manu but rather, we won't know what we really have with him for another 2-3 years. And I'd rather wait on a guy with a clear, valuable NBA skillset to develop rather than waiting on a real athletic guy with a broken jumper and poor basketball IQ to hopefully figure it out. The upside is that if it does work out in a few years and Ben continues his development, Nik could slide into a valuable and versatile 6th man role ala Manu.

I generally expect this to be a very rough year for Nik but to take a pretty good step next year. The problem this year is our bench is so poor and our depth so absent that we're focusing on a player who in all honesty shouldn't be playing much right now.

Also, when it comes to discerning talent at this level, the big jump and what it takes to succeed, many times what success is based on is what windows in the NBA game your skillset allows you to create, unless you're a pure role player with an extremely defined role. It's also what you can do when those windows are created. Nik's skillset naturally will allow him to create more windows on the court, it's more a mater of him figuring out where and when those windows will come, as the game is quicker and which windows are a 1st, 2nd or 3rd option. There's spots and windows on the floor where a guy like Steph or Wall will see 5-8 options, 5-8 opportunities in a split second, whereas lesser players without the handle or ability to pull up will only see 1-2 opportunities. And it's a chain reaction, knowing if you crossover here or jab there, hesitate and get into the gap, you're creating more options, options you're comfortable with and looking for. Without a skillset to create that chain reaction, those windows come and go unnoticed. You find trouble where another finds opportunity. And like I said, I'd rather wait on a guy with the skillset to get up to the NBA speed rather than hope another guy will develop the tools in the first place. I actually think the NBA has gone away from fundamentally sound players for so long and propped up athleticism that some don't recognize a fundamentally sound player when he arrives. As Kobe talked about yesterday, Nik looks like he was developed in Europe, not AAU. But he's also got more athleticism and a better handle than a number of Euro players. We've just got to be patient.

Now, back on the road.

I think your pretty much spot on. Very fair assessment. I don't know if many remember Manu when he came into the league, but the dude played totally out of control. He was like a bull in a china shop, and drove Pop's crazy. But he adapted his game, got it under better control and became what he is today. I would be extremely happy if Nik's career mirrored Manu's. Whether you like Manu's style of play or not, he almost always impacts the game when he enters it, and I'm all about impact players.

I've always said, that except for those rare players like Jordan and Lebron etc, it usually takes a player a couple of years to find his way in the NBA. A lot of people would have been happy with Vonleh as our choice, but he's struggling as well. Not unexpected. Its harder for a one and done big man. Someone just posted that Payton could be a triple threat. Well yeah, he could, but then I could say the same thing about Nik, and we'd both be making huge assumptions. Payton has to correct quite a bit in his shooting to become a triple threat. He's shooting under 50% from the free throw line, and around 20% from the three. Doesn't mean he can't improve, and become a good shooter. Doesn't mean he will either. Point is, we don't know, and it's just not fair to write off any player in their first year. Like I said, its a big step up from college.

All those that thought Klay Thompson would be as good as he turned out to be please raise their hand. Ahhhh, my hand didn't go up. But hey, we got Jimmer that year. What's not to like when you could have had Thompson, Leonard, Faried, either of the Morris twins (hey their better than Jimmer), Tobias Harris, Vucevic, Shumpert, and Alec Burks. All drafted after Jimmer. And lets not forget the 30th pick, Jimmy Butler. Now tell me how many of you thought Butler would be that good. You just never know for sure.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Your stats are wrong because you put the amount of 3pters he made per game. 2.9 3pt attempts is really bad number considering how many 3pters Klay really did take.

It appears that Baja mistakenly looked at the 3PTM column (Klay made 2.9 per game in his last year at WSU) and not the 3PTA column.

 

[pshn80]

If he can further his already-existent ball-handling skills, it would be a good idea to run him at the point guard on the offensive end and put him on whoever he can guard in the defensive end. He already has playmaking instincts, too. Like some others have already said, his skillset is a lot like Manu's, who sometimes brings the ball up for the Spurs.

If I were the coach I would have the same concerns about doing that with Stauskas as I had with Jimmer. But I might do it anyway just to shake some more bugs out of his performance.

 

[Glenn]

Go to about 1:00 into this video:

Or this:

http://www.nba.com/video/games/kings/2014/12/27/0021400451-nyk-sac-play4.nba/

And I know I've seen video somewhere of him doing through the leg dunks in practice. He's athletic enough. He's just a rookie trying to figure out the grown man's game.

I've seen it too.

 

[Merdiesel]

I was more concerned with Ben in his first season. Keep running him out there, he be alright.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

wasn't the exact same thing said last season about Ben? some of us want a Vivek Ranadive instant results but it doesn't happen like that...he is going through growing pains and I'm not worried in the slightest about Nik, if anything he will become a reliable three point threat even if he never learns to play defense or rebound and do little things.

well last year ben was playing alongside micro pizza ball hogging boy. can't really blame him for being frozen out of the offense. i think he would've gotten more open looks if there was a darren collison next to him.

 

[Chubbs]

This idea that Nik lacks athleticism needs to stop. It's untrue. He can dunk. He's 6'6 with a 35 inch vertical. He's done it in games. He will continue to. He just lacks strength and experience. Physically, he gets beat up. No doubt.

Must say, seeing Malone turn Ben around (failure to develop players was a reason given for his firing btw) makes me wonder if nik can have the same success with our current 'coaching' structure. But my impression is that Nik is a worker. A gym rat. Those guys tend to reach their potential.

 

[gunks]

Nik will be fine.

He has a great skill set, high BBIQ, good work ethic, and good size for a SG.

It might take him another season or two, but he'll be a contributor.

 

[kingsboi]

well last year ben was playing alongside micro pizza ball hogging boy. can't really blame him for being frozen out of the offense. i think he would've gotten more open looks if there was a darren collison next to him.

Collison or not he couldn't help Ben last year so it really is hindsight thinking to say the least...it was all between the ears for Ben.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

maybe, maybe not. i'd say he had something to do with it. look what he did to reke? neutered him by taking the ball out of his hands.

check this segment w/ nik and peja. it bright a smile to my face to see peja shooting.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/n...103-inside-stuff-peja-feat.nba/?ls=nbahpfull4

 

[Livinthedream]

I think everyone knows Nik can dunk. How I understood the comment was that if you are 6'6 and can dunk, it doesn't mean you're athletic. You should be able to.

Not to draw the ire of the Nik supporters, but I worry about his confidence because he supposedly came in supremely confident and that went away. That's a harder and longer fall than someone who is a bit more humble to start with. It could actually be crushing to his psyche. You can read into it however you please, but seeing him tweet how many game are left in the season is a little concerning in my mind. I don't know where his head is at.

I don't get the Ginobli comparisons at all. I don't need it explained to me because it's just not there in my opinion. I don't get the idea that he can play PG either. If Nik is struggling at his natural position where his one job is to catch and shoot, why would we put him at a position that is markedly more difficult to master AND his counterparts would be able even faster and quicker?

Should he get stronger, in better shape and just hit some shots, he'll be fine. Probably a good role player. But Klay or Ginobli comparisons are a stretch and not fair.

 

[King Baller]

Go to about 1:00 into this video:

Or this:

http://www.nba.com/video/games/kings/2014/12/27/0021400451-nyk-sac-play4.nba/

And I know I've seen video somewhere of him doing through the leg dunks in practice. He's athletic enough. He's just a rookie trying to figure out the grown man's game.

I remember that Cousins pass to the cutting Staukas for the dunk. 4th game of the season. Pre-meningitis and Pre-assasination

Man, how this season has turned around