The dust is settling on the buyout market for the Boston Celtics, they had an open roster spot and came to terms with a two-year deal, with Canadian and Lithuanian sharpshooter, Nik Stauskas.
A shock to many Cs fans who may be perplexed by this move, a former lottery pick who has not been able to stick on a roster long enough to become a household name anywhere. Why should we be excited? The five-year NBA veteran is looking better than ever after his recent G-League stint with Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets developmental team.
He may have been overshadowed by the hype surrounding Isaiah Thomas who did his minor league stint on the same squad. Now, Cs fans we are not getting a Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas or even Deandre Bembry level pickup, but he fits team needs.
However, another shooter to add to our guard and wing depth makes far more sense. Boston has experienced many injuries recently to the likes of Jaylen Brown, Aaron Nesmith, and even Derrick White.
Brad needed to add a piece as a level of injury insurance that could also make a contribution to the rotation. Killing two birds with one leprechaun pot-sized stone.
Let’s dive into getting a clear profile on the newest Celtic who will dawn number 13 in his debut. Who are the shamrocks getting in this five-year NBA vet? What type of impact can his addition have down the road?
The guy was signed to a two-year deal, with the second year non-guaranteed, but the fact he got one of the available standard contract spots speaks volumes to Celt’s brass belief in the 28-year-old.
Without further mention, here are 3 things to know about the newest Boston Celtics player, Nik Staukas:
Factoid No. 1) Nik Stauskas has scored 100 points in his last two games
Nik Stauskas has set the NBA G-League in an inferno in his last two outings, topping out at 100 points. Boston Celtics enter the chat, hoping those levels of flames can be sustained from the former lottery pick.
100 points at any level of this sport are incredible in a two-game span. The same people that will cast hate on him have likely never picked up a basketball in their lives. Let’s take a deeper look into these last two outings.
The Grand Rapids Gold beat the Wisconsin Herd behind an electric 57 point matinee from the scoring guard on 20-29 shooting including 11 made 3’s on 15 attempts in 43 minutes of play.
Staukas would not stop there, the next game adding to that impressive feat by dropping 43 points on the Lakeland Magic. This was enough for Brad Stevens to get in touch with his agents and get a deal done that same week.
Everybody freaked out with Isaiah Thomas having some unreal games in the G-League, let’s keep that same energy with Nik.
On the season, he averaged 26 points, 5.8, and 4.7 per game on unreal shooting splits of 51.4% from the field, 46.6% from three, and 84.1% from the line.
The shamrocks had to take a chance on this wildcard by adding him to their deck of playing cards. These season averages show that well these two games may be outliers, the 6’6 off guard is having an exceptional season.
Factoid No. 2) Nik Stauskas has some NBA experience
Nik Staukas has logged 337 games played in the NBA for six different teams(Kings, Sixers, Nets, Blazers, Cavs, and Heat). The Boston Celtics may be his last real chance to become a household name in this league.
A career of 6.8 points per game on sub-40 shooting and just 35% from distance does not give C’s fans much confidence that his game translates to the big leagues well. It is fair to ask why he has moved around a bunch?
The Lithuanian guard was drafted eighth overall in 2014 by the Sacramento Kings. He spent just one season there and never really found any footing with his shooting stroke.
He did get the nickname Sauce Castillo thanks to a closed captioning error on a Sacramento broadcast. The next two seasons he would spend with the Philadelphia Sixers and had the opportunity to start in 62 games where he saw his averages increase as well as a slight rise in efficiency.
In Staukas’s third year, he averaged a career-high in scoring with 9.5 points per game on 39.6% from the field and near 37% from distance. The perimeter play he was drafted for started to translate.
In his fourth season, he split time between the Sixers and Nets for 41 games played where he shot a career-high 40% from three, but saw his minutes shrink substantially.
In the 2018-19 campaign, his time would be divided again between being a Blazer and a Cavalier. The minutes rose to around 15 per game and his efficiency rose to over 42% from the 3-point line with the Cavs and in his Portland stint, he topped 41.9% overall from the field.
After this season, Nik would fall out of the league and have to claw his way back through a series of overseas play, G-League stints, and one COVID-19 hardship 10-day with the Miami Heat.
In just two mere games with the Heat, the guard averaged 5.5 points per game on 50% shooting from three.
This is somewhat a synopsis of how he got to the Celtics, good or bad.
Factoid No. 3) This Boston Celtics stint may be his final NBA opportunity
When a player of Nik Stauskas billing gets drafted high with a hefty amount of expectations and does not fit up to those heights, it’s the case of an NBA bust. The Boston Celtics are getting someone who is struggling to keep that NBA dream alive and kicking.
This may realistically be his final stop on his NBA journey if the rest of this season is a failure and the C’s do not guarantee that second-year team option. The bright side is we will get to see what level of chip he is playing with on his shoulders.
Can Staukas crack Ime Udoka’s short rotations, can he be an 8th or 9th guy in the lineup? These next few months will be quick determiners of that lingering questions.
The Celts can definitely use that level of three-point shooting and another potential threat coming off the pine in that dreaded second unit.
One which is generally inconsistent at best and hollow in the sense that the coach sees no upside in going more than eight or nine deep on any given night.
The veteran guard will need to earn any minutes and trust given to him by busting his rump in practice and team scrimmages. Gaining the trust of Celtics brass and by building chemistry with this current unit.
Udoka will not disrupt team morale for just anyone to get minutes. Case and points, the newest standard contract and 10-day players such as Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, Kelan Martin, and Malik Fitt’s minutes have been few and far between. What makes this new addition any different?