1-on-1 with Kings rookie Nik Stauskas: Part 1

theScore's Joseph Casciaro caught up with Sacramento Kings rookie Nik Stauskas this summer to find out how ones life changes off the court once a player is drafted and how the entire Draft process unfolds for players.

Presented in association with Fanlime, here is Part 1 of that interview.

What’s been the biggest change from a lifestyle perspective?

To be honest, I don’t feel like my life has changed that much. Obviously this is my job now, and I’m sure once the season starts it’s going to change as far as me being busy and traveling all around the country and playing games. But I think really the only difference for me is that I have money to support myself now.

How do you stay grounded with that new money and avoid the temptations of being a young guy with a multimillion dollar contract?

Just being smart about it and really just thinking of things in the long term. For me, knock on wood, but if I were to get injured tomorrow and I only have two years guaranteed on my contract, that’s not going to take care of me for the rest of my life. So, just look at it that way.

I have my parents who are looking after my money and I have a financial advisor, too. With me it’s all about setting a budget. I haven’t really set that budget yet, but a number that we feel comfortable  per year, what I can spend, whether it’s paying for gas, or my rent or food, all that stuff. But then the rest of the money that I’m not spending just going into saving and putting it into investments and that kind of stuff, so really just being smart about it.

Advisors often tell pro athletes to make sure they’re prepared for life after basketball. I know you’re a young guy who hasn’t even really started his NBA journey, but if someone asked you right now what you want to do when this is all over?

I’m interested in the business side of things. Investments and stocks and all that kind of stuff. Having a financial advisor now, one of the things that he’s going to do is try teaching me different things about the business so that one day I can become financially responsible for myself and make those kinds of decisions. I still plan on going back to school at some point and getting my degree, but right now I don’t know what that degree is going to be.

Take us through the process of finding an agent.

Throughout the season at Michigan, agents started coming at my parents, I guess just anticipating that I would leave. I didn’t want to have anything to do with talking to agents during the season. I just wanted to stay focused, so what my parents did is they basically went through all of the agents that were contacting me and they narrowed it down to the four agents that they thought would be the best fit for me and my personality. Once the season was over, I held meetings with all four and then I ultimately decided who I liked best.

How do you decide who fits best with your personality?

With me it was just feeling comfortable. My agent, Mark Bartelstein, he has Tim Hardaway Jr, who played at Michigan with me, he has Mitch McGary who played at Michigan with me, and we all feel comfortable with him. He’s a guy who loves basketball and he knows the game of basketball very well.

There are a lot of agents out there that are great at making you money, but at the end of the day if you ask them questions about your game or what the team needs to improve on or things like that, they don’t know what they’re talking about.

My agent has both sides of it. He’s great as far as business and getting you paid, and then he’s also great at knowledge of the game and understanding what you need to do to either get minutes on the floor or to get that next contract or whatever it is.

For a rookie who hasn't played an NBA game yet, what’s the process of getting paid like? Do you start getting paid as soon as you sign your rookie contract?

You can ask for an advance, but if you don’t ask for an advance, you can choose to get paid throughout the 12 months of the year or you can choose to get paid throughout the months of the season. For rookies that starts November 15.

Every player says they realize it’s a business when it comes to trades and the like, but how prepared are you for that, that you can get traded before you play a game, like Andrew Wiggins did, for example? That at any moment, everything can change? Your coaches, your teammates and friends, your residence, everything?

It’s something you need to be aware of. I say I’m aware of it but at the end of the day I’m not thinking everyday that I could get traded. That’s not something that goes through my mind. So if it did happen to me, it would be a shock and I would be surprised and it would change a lot of things for me, but I’m definitely aware of it.

At the end of the day anything’s possible. I could end up going to Sacramento and I don’t even play this year – they don’t give me any minutes. That’s part of the business. There are times when they think someone’s better than you and they think that person’s going to help them win more. That’s why you just have to work hard and be prepared for any decision that the team is going to make.

The one obvious change you’ll be making either way is moving to a new city. Are there any places you absolutely have to go when you return home to play the Raptors?

I think the one place I’d eat is Montana’s. Montana’s is definitely the one spot where I’d definitely have to go eat. I love that place.

I like that you kept it down to earth. I thought maybe you would mention some upscale places, but everyday people know all about Montana’s ribs

(Laughs) Their ribs are good. Their wings though – I love their wings.

I’ve actually never tried wings there. I’ll have to try their wings next time and tell them that Nik Stauskas recommended them.

Get the mild wings and ask for a little bit of extra sauce on them. You won’t regret it.

Something I noticed in the reports on the rookie symposium was that you guys learned about proper eating etiquette, things like which utensil to use and stuff like that, because someone is always watching now. How do you balance being more formal and having eyes on you at all times with also still wanting to be a normal young guy who just wants to go to Montana’s and dip your hands in some wings?

I think it’s just realizing the place you’re in and the people you’re surrounded with. If you’re with your friends and you’re at a place like Montana’s and no one’s around, I don’t think anyone’s going to pay attention to if you’re picking up the right fork or using the right table etiquette.

But at the same time, if you’re at a dinner where you’re talking business with important people, then it’s important to realize that if you’re in a different situation then you probably have to conduct yourself in a different manner.

But at the end of the day, like they said, you’re always being watched, so you never want to do anything that’s going to give you a bad reputation or a bad image, so just always be aware of that at all times.

The writer who was tweeting about the symposium had one tweet that I had to get an answer on. What was this "Her name is probably not really Sparkle Smith" thing all about?

(Laughs) Just be conscious of the girls you’re going to hang out with. For a lot of guys that aren’t in relationships, they’re going to want to go out at night and meet new people and maybe mess around with different girls. And their main message was just be smart about it and be conscious of the girls you’re meeting and what their motivations are. Like she was saying, whether her name is Sparkle Smith or whatever, that’s probably not her real name, and just be aware of those things and aware of the people you’re getting involved with.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned so far about how to manage this new hectic lifestyle?

I guess just realizing the people who helped you get here and not forgetting about them. For me, like I said, I keep a small group of people that I stay close with. Obviously I’m going to meet new people in Sacramento and I’m sure there will be a lot of people that want to introduce themselves to me, but just realizing that not all people are going to be there for me the same way like  my friends and family were there for me going through this whole process.

For more from Stauskas on life as an NBAer, check out Fanlime.