Nik Stauskas trolls the Sacramento Kings on Twitter
By John Buhler
Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Nik Stauskas appreciates the 76ers getting the No. 3 overall pick from the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Draft Lottery.
There were a handful of teams to watch in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery. Two of them were the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings. Philadelphia had the fourth-best odds to win the lottery, potentially landing the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick if it fell out of the top three, and a right to a pick swap with the Sacramento Kings.
While the Lakers ended up with the No. 2 overall pick, the 76ers were able to exercise their use of a pick swap with the Kings. Philadelphia initially drew the No. 5 pick but switched that for the No. 3 pick that would have gone to Sacramento.
Nobody loved this pick swap more than the man who was a prominent centerpiece in that terrible deal for the Kings two summers ago in 76ers wing Nik Stauskas. Only three years ago was Stauskas the apple of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s eye. We are pretty sure the only word he said during the 2014 NBA Draft was Stauskas’ surname. Stauskas? Stauskas.
Rain drop, drop top, we be converting on the pick swap. #ThanksSac 😜
— Nik Stauskas (@NStauskas11) May 17, 2017
It turns out that Stauskas was a horrendous fit with the 2014-15 Kings. Add in that Kings general manager Vlade Divac had zero knowledge of what exactly a mid-level exception entailed and he panic-dumped Stauskas and this right to a pick swap to the 76ers to sign some other lackluster basketball players.
Stauskas may only be a role player for Brett Brown’s 76ers, but he is partly responsible for the 76ers getting that No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. It was mostly the incredible work of former 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie in something called The Process, where he absolutely fleeced a bewildered Divac.
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The 76ers were markedly better in 2016-17, more than doubling their win total from 2015-16. Stauskas played some big minutes off the 76ers bench. This No. 3 overall pick will presumably be whomever Philadelphia covets most that is not named Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball because they’ll be gone. Trust The Process!