The pick is in for the Sacramento Kings and they’ve taken a sharpshooting guard from north of the border. With the eight overall pick, the Kings have taken Nik Stauskas out of the University of Michigan.
Stauskas played two seasons under John Beilein at Ann Arbor. In his final season as a Wolverine, the 20-year-old guard averaged 17.5 points (a team-high), 3.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 35.6 minutes per game. He earned a number of accolades in his two years at Michigan, including All-American honors as a sophomore while being voted as the Big 10 Player of the Year.
“I think a lot of guys who go to Michigan, there are a lot of guys who are under-recruited,” Stauskas told ESPN’s Jay Williams after being selected by the Sacramento Kings. “We play with a chip on our shoulder.”
Stauskas’ greatest asset is his shooting. He has range from all over the court and has a quick release on his jump shot. The Canadian guard shot 44 percent from three-point distance (172-for-390) in his two seasons at the University of Michigan. The shot chart from Grantland’s Kirk Goldsberry displayed below illustrates Stauskas’ range on the court.
The selection of Stauskas raises question-marks for the future of Ben McLemore. Last summer, the 21-year-old shooting guard out of Kansas was the first draft pick of the Kings’ new regime. McLemore struggled in his first season as a pro, averaging 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game while shooting just 32 percent from 3-point distance. Yahoo! Sports reported during the draft that the Kings were engaged in talks with the Boston Celtics to deal McLemore for the sixth overall pick. To this point, no trades involving the Kings have materialized.
Before Stauskas’ selection, the draft played out as followed: Andrew Wiggins (Cleveland), Jabari Parker (Milwaukee), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia), Aaron Gordon (Orlando), Dante Exum (Utah), Marcus Smart (Boston) and Julius Randle (Los Angeles Lakers).
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