Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Nik Stauskas has some serious work to do before training camp if he wishes to remain on the team.
About a year ago at this point, we were talking about Nik Stauskas and his rebirth in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings trading him to the Philadelphia 76ers. He had clearly not lived up to his rookie expectations with the Kings, but it looked like all he needed was a better-fit system and an increase in minutes to produce at a higher level.
Maybe we were wrong. Maybe Nik just isn’t fit for the NBA.
Although Stauskas did clearly have a better year last season (his per 36 averages generally all increased) it could be argued that he still wasn’t good by any means, and couldn’t even be considered good in the context of the Sixers, a team that won just 10 games.
Nik finished the year with a stat average of 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.
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Many fans and coaches brushed off the long slumps Stauskas had this past season, and especially ignored his issues by the end of the year. The general feel was that he would simply fix the problems over this summer, and be a better player by the time next season came around. As far as Nik making the team next year, it looked like he would.
But now, some are not so sure. Some now believe that Stauskas is on the bubble as far as making the final roster, and that is a clear indication that he has some work to do.
Stauskas, along with Jerami Grant, was brought in as a “veteran” of the summer league games to help bolster the Sixers offense and defense. Nik wasn’t awful, but for a player that was appearing in his third straight summer league season, you would have thought he would have been a bit more dominant.
Nik averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in two appearances for the Sixers in summer league.
I don’t think, by any means, Nik is a bad player. I think he needs to put some work in in the gym this summer before training camp to get his shot right before training camp and the preseason, but he’s going to fill out (hopefully) very soon.
There’s a lot of work Nik has to do. He’s currently visiting his former school, Michigan, and likely working with some former coaches there. That’s a good start.
Another thing Nik could look into is talking with Ben Simmons about his sport psychology experience. Simmons’ benefits from sport psychology were detailed by Jake Fischer of Sports Ilustrated.
Speaking to Wade, here’s what sports psychologist Graham Betchart had to say about what playing basketball can be like, and how he helps his players:
"There’s going to be a storm around you and there’s nothing you can do about it. But you can get real peaceful and real calm in the middle of it."
Stauskas, if he could realize that eye of the storm mentality, would improve greatly next season. Nik was clearly struggling at certain points last year just because of nervousness and jitters. Once he gets over that, he really can be a solid player.
I’ve said it over and over, the greatest comparison I can come up with for Stauskas is a scared puppy dog when he’s on the floor. He often looks unready to get into the game, and I believe that talking with Simmons about getting in touch with a sports psychologist would be beneficial for Nik.
Next: Simmons Named to All-NBA Summer League Team
Overall, Nik has a lot of work to do in the next month or so. He needs to prepare himself on the floor, and also prepare his mind for next season. If he wants to make the team, he need to lock in now.