Cleveland Cavaliers: Prioritizing the SG/SF situation

3. Nik Stauskas

On the road again. That was the punchline to describe Nik Stauskas’ trade deadline. In a whirlwind of moves, Stauskas saw himself traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and then waived.

However, the sharpshooter wound back up with the Cavaliers less than a week later, as a team press release noted.

Stauskas brings some intriguing intangibles to the table. Aside from his shooting, the main reason he’s currently in the NBA, he is a pretty underrated passer. It was on display in his few seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers as their starting point guard and could be used as a help to the second-unit.

Upon his arrival to the Wine and Gold, Stauskas gives an option to play point alongside Jordan Clarkson off the bench. In another unique way of using him, Cleveland could line him up with Clarkson and fellow scorer Brandon Knight in an offensive-minded set.

On the season before last game’s game versus the New York Knicks, Stauskas was averaging 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 15.3 minutes played nightly, per NBA.com. He earned those averages in 44 games, all off the bench for the Portland Trail Blazers.