Re-Drafting the 2014 NBA Draft

24. player. 170. <p><strong>Original pick: Shabazz Napier (traded to Miami)</strong></p> <p>As a star at the University of Michigan, Nik Stauskas was regarded as one of the best shooters in the country. As a freshman, he converted 44% of his threes in a supporting role, but in his second college campaign, Stauskas was able to maintain that exact level of efficiency while attempting 5.8 threes per game.</p> <p>Sounds like a very valuable piece in this modern NBA, right?</p> <p>The problem is that Nik Stauskas may have forgotten how to shoot the basketball. As an NBA player, he has converted only 32.5% of his threes over 474 attempts, and even with good free throw shooting, Stauskas is a career 51.7% shooter according to true shooting percentage.</p> <p>That is, of course, a glaring issue for Stauskas in that shooting is his principle NBA value. As a fan of his game, I maintain that he is a better creator and ball-handler than he is given credit for, but Stauskas is a below-average defender in any world and he absolutely must remember to be a knock-down shooter to have any value.</p> <p>This ranking is something of a hedge in that Stauskas could thrive in a real, live NBA city (i.e. not Philadelphia or Sacramento), but it takes a leap of faith at this point.</p>. SG. Michigan. Nik Stauskas