Former Blazer Nik Stauskas is Balling Out In the G League

Former Portland Trail Blazers guard Nik Stauskas has not played in an NBA game since 2019, but that might change soon if he continues to play as well as he has been in the G League.

As a member of the Grand Rapids Gold, the Denver Nuggets’ affiliate, the Canadian sharpshooter is averaging 25 points per game while shooting over 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from distance. Stauskas was shooting over 40 percent from beyond, but he went 0 for 6 Sunday night in a win against the Windy City Bulls.

Among all the Blazers’ G League alumni, Stauskas has been the most successful. While the Blazers might not need any three-point shooting help, there could be a need around the league once injuries begin to really pile up, and a 10-day contract (or better) could be in store for Stauskas.

Seeing Sauce Castillo perform well is the billionth reason why the Blazers would benefit from having a G League team. Only the Blazers and Phoenix Suns remain without a G League team. The Suns used to have the Northern Arizona Suns, but the organization sold the team to the Detroit Pistons, who relocated to Michigan to become the Motor City Cruise.

This means the Blazers are the only team to have never had a G League affiliate, and there is a lot of benefit to having a developmental team running the Blazers’ system. While the team has relied on sticking around the big league club as the best way to develop younger players, it’s possible that some of these projects would have developed quicker had they gotten some G League run.