Sticking Up for Stauskas

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

With the NBA free agent moratorium now over, the trade heist involving Nik Stauskas is expected to be made official at any time. Fortunately for Philadelphia, Sacramento can’t pull a DeAndre Jordan and back out of the deal since they’ve already used some of the cap space that was freed up to reach agreements with free agents. Now, while I agree with many that the pick swaps may end up being the most valuable part of the haul received from Sacramento, I remain cautiously optimistic that Stauskas may end up as a difference maker for the Sixers long-term. Some people are ready to dismiss the former Wolverine because of his struggles during his rookie season as a King, but let’s see if we can’t find past precedents for guys to turn things around in a similar situation.

Per Basketball-Reference, Stauskas is one of 47 players in NBA history to attempt at least 145 three-pointers (he shot 149) while making 32.5% (32.2%) or less during his rookie season. Along with recent Sixers like Jerami Grant, Michael Carter-Williams, and K.J. McDaniels, there are also some really big names on that list, including three members of America’s favorite wine club in LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony.

Now I’m not going to sit here and try to argue that Stauskas is going to become a perennial All-Star, but he came into the league with the upside of being an elite outside shooter, and there’s no reason to think he can’t reach that potential because of a poor rookie season. Heck, of guys just on that list, Kevin Durant shot 28.8% from three his rookie season and is now one of the most terrifying shooters in the league at 37.9% on his career; Jason Terry jetted his way from 29.3% to 38.0%; Peja Stojakovic went from 32.0% to 40.1% and having a hype crew run through the crowd with cutouts of his face whenever he made a three.

Stauskas had to play for three coaches last season under arguably the most dysfunctional organization in the NBA. I’d imagine it was very difficult to not only overcome the traditional learning curve as a rookie, but also to try to climb out of whatever hellish quagmire was sucking players down in Northern California. Under the tutelage of Brett Brown and an organization that’s experienced some measure of success developing young talent the last couple seasons, there’s every reason to believe Philadelphia is the perfect place for Stauskas to flourish.