Sacramento Kings Grab Nik Stauskas At No. 8
By: Morgan Ragan
With the eighth overall pick in the draft the Sacramento Kings picked up sophomore shooting guard Nik Stauskas from Michigan.
Stauskas averaged 17.5 points, 3.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds last season for Michigan. He was 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from behind the arc.
He was named the Big Ten player of the year, while ranking third in scoring and second in threes per game. DraftExpress.com notes that Stauskas is known for his elite shooting and quick release, he is comfortable creating his own shot off the dribble and will always make the extra pass.
"This is not us having a loss of faith in Ben McLemore," Kings head coach Michael Malone said. "In fact, Ben has had a great summer and they will help make each other become better players going head to head everyday."
DraftExpress.com's scouting report also cited concerns with his defense.
"I can improve defensively, I can improve my body by putting the strength and speed on me. Stauskas said, "I'm capable of becoming a defender at the next level, I know I'm going to need to put in all the work and effort."
Staukas was also on Kings.com with Deuce Mason and Jason Ross. He discussed his defensive abilities and says its a weakness he just needs to work on. The good news for Sacramento is its only June, plenty of time to work on becoming an NBA caliber defender.
"I think he is going to surprise a lot of Kings fans with how athletic he really is," Malone said.
The Kings have a lot of needs and adding an unselfish scorer is not the answer to becoming a better team but their franchise believes it's a start.
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Nik-Stauskas-2014-NBA-Pre-Draft-Workout-and-Interview-Video-4518/
