With the 2016-2017 season winding down, the article speculates what role Philadelphia 76ers Nik Stauskas will play for the team next year.
Uncertainty on the Horizon
The Philadelphia 76ers have no more certainty than found at the end of the 10 win 2015-2016 season. With Injuries to Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and now Robert Covington, the 2017-2018 season holds much uncertainty when it comes to what player will play which role on the team. But we can speculate which players’ roles seem solidified after Joel, Ben and Robert.
Dario Saric pushed his way into a starting role with his Rookie of the Year Campaign. T.J. McConnell’s stellar play locked down at least the backup point guard role. Richaun Holmes’ tenacity earned him the center spot behind JoJo. This leaves a pool of Shooting Guards and Small Forwards to fight for a defined roll. I am referring to the quartet of Justin Anderson, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Jerryd Bayless, and Nik Stauskas.
Even though, Anderson, TLC, Bayless have spent less time on the roster, their roles are more clear going forward. Anderson and TLC, while very different players, both are aspiring two-way 3 and D wings. Bayless was signed to shoot alongside Simmons. He may get costly for Philly in his 3rd contract year and get traded as soon as he redeems his value post wrist injury.
This leaves Sauce Castillo. Mike O’Conner recently did a great profile here on Nik Stauskas for The Sixer Sense. He points out Nik’s positive and negative traits as a player. He even offers a details on how Nik favorably compares to J.J. Redick through 3 years of his career. I implore you to give the article a read. One of the striking themes Mike hits on is Nik’s inconsistency. His play can generate the hottest of or most freezing of takes on Nik’s potential as a Sixer. Since Nik won’t turn into J.J overnight, I thought it would be intriguing to speculate what roles could be in the cards for him on the 2017-2018 Philadelphia 76ers.
Ben Simmons’ Primary Backcourt Mate
Recent performances at backup point guard make this role the most far-fetched but not impossible. Per basketball reference, Nik has played 3 percent of his minutes at Point Guard. I also looked at 11 games where Sergio did not play in 2016-2017 in which Nik was likely to play as the primary backup to TJ McConnell. Although this is not a large enough sample size to draw definitive conclusions, it does offer an interesting alternative considering a line up with Ben
| Date | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | TOV | PTS | GmSc | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-12-29 | UTA | 34:09 | 3 | 9 | .333 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 5.3 | -9 |
| 2016-12-30 | DEN | 29:21 | 2 | 7 | .286 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 4 | 4 | 1.000 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 8.2 | +13 |
| 2017-01-03 | MIN | 31:59 | 3 | 9 | .333 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3.8 | +20 | |
| 2017-01-06 | BOS | 24:42 | 1 | 6 | .167 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2.9 | -16 |
| 2017-01-08 | BRK | 30:30 | 4 | 7 | .571 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 4 | 4 | 1.000 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 13.5 | +22 |
| 2017-01-21 | ATL | 35:11 | 3 | 11 | .273 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 3.7 | -12 | |
| 2017-02-04 | MIA | 39:52 | 2 | 11 | .182 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 4 | 4 | 1.000 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 5.3 | -18 |
| 2017-02-08 | SAS | 31:41 | 5 | 10 | .500 | 4 | 7 | .571 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 18.0 | -2 |
| 2017-03-28 | BRK | 33:23 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8.3 | +12 | |
| 2017-03-29 | ATL | 35:30 | 3 | 10 | .300 | 2 | 6 | .333 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 9.8 | +1 |
| 2017-03-31 | CLE | 27:36 | 4 | 10 | .400 | 1 | 5 | .200 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 6.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/2/2017.
A Potential Balanced Starting Lineup
A starting lineup of Ben Simmons, Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Joel Embiid could become a good mix of shooting, spacing and defense.
Busting Brackets
Simmons and Dario Saric offer a lot of ball handling. Robert Covington has shown is ability to defend PGs.. Joel Embiid covers for a lot of defensive sins. The missing piece there is a superb shooter and secondary play maker who can also defend shooting guards. Nik is statistically the teams’ current best three point shooter based on shooting percentage and as the above table has shown can generate shots for his teammates.
The question is can Nik ever get there defensively because the evidence for progression defensively is harder to find. Nik’s 106.7 Defensive Rating per NBA Stats, while improved since his rookie debut, 108.4, is still “Not Great, Bob!”.
Additionally, Nik could run into trouble maintaining efficiency on offense as a guard next to Ben since he would be guarded by the opposing team’s point guard in this line up. Incidentally, Nik relayed wonderful anecdote on his podcast Sauce and Co. He detailed one his first forays as a point guard against Boston. His stat line for that game was less than stellar (1-6 on field goal attempts and only 1 assist) and this is what he had to say on that experience.
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Spot Starter and Trade Candidate
Combining the factors of a lack of defense and a struggle with offensive efficiency make consistent starting role unlikely but, a spot start here or there may be available for him like this year. If Stauskas shows another consistent year off the bench with a ~38% 3pt percentage, if he shows growth on the defensive end as a help defender, then he could look desirable to front offices around the league at a controllable cheap contract. All it takes is one General Manager to see the J.J Redick potential in Stauskas. Sauce Castillo could easily end up as part of trade with other assets.
In addition to that, the Sixers front office could look to make a deal. It may be that TLC and Justin Anderson and the 2017 draft pick as a bigger priority for player development. Unfortunately, it seems like Stauskas’ perception around the league still is way down. The “Shoot like Steph, tall like Klay” days are long gone. The Canadian Shooting Guard may end up being on the Sixers books for the foreseeable future.
8th Man of the Year
Finally, the most likely role, if everyone is healthy, (way too big of an if unfortunately) for Nik Stauskas is 3rd man off the bench. I can’t see Nik beating TJ, Dario (if he doesn’t start), the 2017 lottery pick (if he doesn’t start) or a combination of Jerryd Bayless or Luwawu-Cabarrot off the bench in any match up.
As far team fit overall, Nik is extremely well liked by his fellow players. Additionally, in my opinion, he carries himself like a player willing to slot in and play a role on a good team. Clearly, he will put the work in to try to bring up his stock. Just no evidence suggests the defense will improve enough, or his shooting efficiency can consistently repeat the 66% true shooting percentage he held in October and March of this year. (h/t to NBA Stats)
Next: Malcolm Brogdon Should Not Be Rookie of the Year
In closing, I will say having Nik Stauskas as 8th man will be a testament to how deep the Sixers bench will be next year. For this last month of the season, minus Covington and Henderson, you could be looking at the 2017-2018 bench rotation. Fortunately, I believe the rising tide will lift all boats next season for the Sixers. Fans can only hope they will get to raise more cats as well.