Nik Stauskas a Sixer because of DeMarcus Cousins?

Nik Stauskas is a single season removed from being a top-10 pick in the highly-hyped 2014 NBA Draft. Coming off of a stellar collegiate career at Michigan where he was named the 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year, many considered Stauskas to be the best pure shooter in the deep draft class.

After one inconsistent and uninspiring season in Sacramento however, Stauskas found himself shipped across the country, with an early 'bust' tag attached to his name.


Despite his occasionally sub-par play, a single season is a pretty short trial run with an organization, especially for a top ten draft pick. Players often struggle during their rookie season, as they are adapting to NBA life both on and off the court. It is not uncommon for players to show marked improvement in their second season. Plus, teams are often hesitant to bail on a top-ten pick after such a short period of time, as it is basically an admission of, "Hey, we made the wrong pick!"

Thus, it was somewhat surprising that the Kings basically gave Stauskas away to the Sixers.

'Sauce Castillo' as he will be known as in Philadelphia thanks to Andrew Unterberger, is still only 21, and by all accounts he still has his arms, and didn't forget how use them to shoot, which is his main asset. He shot a pedestrian 32% from beyond the arc on the season, but that number jumped up to 42% after the All-Star break; a very respectable ratio. His shooting improved throughout the season, as he began to show signs of the potential to be an extremely serviceable shooter.

Why then, were the Kings so willing to part with him?

As it turns out, the factors may not have been entirely on-court related. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the relationship between Stauskas and franchise cornerstone DeMarcus Cousins soured rather quickly. and the Kings made the move to deal Stauskas partly to appease Cousins.

According to the source, Cousins was overly tough on Stauskas, often screaming at him and in turn lowering his on-court confidence. SB Nation alluded to this issue in June, prior to Stauskas' move to Philadelphia:

"Word is Cousins was so tough on [Nik] Stauskas in practice that the young Canadian's confidence remained in a state of despair all season."

After the season, Cousins reportedly told Kings management that he did not want to be on the court with Stauskas. Thus, the move was made to appease the team's top talent, as the Kings aim to keep Cousins content, and in turn keep him in Sacramento.

It is worth noting that the Stauskas move was made shortly after it was reported that Kings coach George Karl wanted to trade Cousins, but ownership wouldn't allow it. Perhaps the Stauskas trade was a move by Kings ownership to show support for Cousins in light of the recent reports.

It is also worth noting that shortly after the above information became available, both Stauskas and Cousins shared via social media a picture of a text message Cousins sent to Stauskas wishing him well on his new journey, almost as if to prove that there was no bad blood.

Regardless of how it happened, Stauskas is now a Sixer, and he will likely be given every opportunity to reboot his young career in Philadelphia. With post presences like Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor on the roster, a perimeter player like Stauskas, who has the ability to spread the floor and open up the interior, could prove to be very valuable for the Sixers moving forward. Surrounded by a bunch of other hungry, young players eager to make a name for themselves in the league, Stauskas appears to have landed in a solid situation.