The name Nik Stauskas is being thrown around a lot in NBA trade rumors right now. Although nothing definitive has been reported, “conventional wisdom,” if there is such a thing, says the Sacramento Kings are looking to dangle Stauskas as trade bait in an attempt to bolster their front line.
So the two dominant Nik Stauskas narratives right now are:
1.) a Detroit area high schooler, using Twitter proficiency to land Stauskas ‘ girlfriend Taylor Anderson as a prom date
2.) The Kings looking to deal him to a forward heavy team, as they feel their backcourt situation could handle the loss of the Canadian sharpshooter.
Of course, we’ve been down this road before: a trending story on the internet involving wild speculation on the professional future of Nik Stauskas; with Twitter involved. You’ll recall when people read way too much into the Tweets of Taylor Anderson.
Of course, the Detroit Pistons make a logical trading partner for the Kings. They have more front court depth than back-court. Nik Stauskas played two years at the University of Michigan, in the suburbs of Detroit. He’s a Canadian international; and the Pistons have the second largest Canadian fan base in the NBA.
Stauskas was the Big Ten player of the year last season, and the Kings made him the 8th overall pick in the NBA Draft. However, he’s been much more potential than production thus far in his professional career. In his first half season (38 games) as a pro, the lottery pick is shooting just 33% from the field, 27% from three.
FF Locker Room has a write-up articulating the how/why of a Nik Stauskas to Detroit trade.
power forward Greg Monroe is a unrestricted free agent after the season. Pairing Monroe with Cousins would be a strong move by the struggling franchise. But would the Kings be able to offer enough to pry the veteran from Detroit’s grasp? With their recent resurgence, probably not.
One thing that could interest any trade partner of the Kinds is that they have a few expiring contracts that they can throw into a trade which includes Reggie Evans and Derrick Williams.
Obviously, it’s a bit of a stretch to say this deal is going to happen; although it does make a lot of sense. No trade is official until Yahoo/Fox Sports 1’s Adrian Wojnarowski declares it so. Not when the actual teams announce it mind you, but when Woj does.
NBA by-laws seem to indicate that any and all trade news must be broken first by Wojnarowski.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports, Yardbarker Network, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive Inc.
You can read Banks’ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)