Philadelphia 76ers guard Nik Stauskas is entering the final year of his contract. How has he fared in the NBA for his first three years?
Nik Stauskas had the best year of his young NBA career last year. He posted personal bests in three point shooting (36.8 percent), true shooting percentage (54.0 percent), on a career high in points per game (9.5) for the Philadelphia 76ers.
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One interesting thing about Stauskas is that his numbers from when he starts are significantly worse than when he comes off of the bench. In twenty seven starts, Stauskas had a net rating of -6.2. When he didn’t start, his net rating was -3.9. Also, his true shooting percentage as a starter was 10.7 percentage points worse than as a reserve, and his 3-point shooting was 8.5 percentage points worse. It’s hard to know why these numbers are the way they are. It could be just a coincidence. It could be that when Stauskas starts, he goes against better defenders. However, if these numbers aren’t just noise, it’s safe to say Stauskas is best suited as a reserve.
Stauskas’ greatest strength is his3-point shooting. He has a quick, consistent, and smooth release. Stauskas scored 1.01 points per possession on spot up shooting, which ranks in the 62.5 percentile among qualfied NBA players. When Stauskas plays with Ben Simmons, transition opportunities like this should be plenty.
Here is another example, this time Saric passes to an open Stauskas for three.
Stauskas shot 46.4 percent on wide open threes (three point attempts where he is left 6-plus feet open). Stauskas is going to be a massive beneficiary of playing with Simmons.
Stauskas was slightly below average in isolation. He scored 0.80 points per possession, which would place him in the 44.8 percentile. He certainly has some ability to create for himself in isolation. His quick release allows him to get his shot off if the defender loses him. It’s not his strongest attribute as a player. Hopefully he can improve in this area.
One area where Stauskas needs to improve in a major way is his play as a pick and roll ball handler. He only scored 0.69 points per possession, which puts him in the 27.5 percentile. Stauskas also had a higher turnover percentage than assist percentage last year.
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In the end, Nik Stauskas should be best used by Brett Brown as a floor spacer. He is clearly very good at that. Stauskas will turn 24 in October, so he’s still young enough to where he could improve in the areas where he needs to. Philadelphia should strongly consider bringing Stauskas back after next year. He will be a restricted free agent. In a league where so many teams are at the tax or close to it, it’s safe to assume Philadelphia could be able to work out a long term deal for Stauskas.