Brown considering Stauskas for stint at point

With Jerryd Bayless still unavailable with a wrist injury and presumed long-term pointguard solution Ben Simmons out for three months after foot surgery, Brett Brown is low on lead-guard options.

And is that Nik Stauskas, raising his hand to volunteer?

“I think over the summer I brought it up to him a little bit, saying it’s something I think I’d be good at and something that interests me,” Stauskas said Saturday, before the Sixers’ 97-76 preseason loss to the visiting Detroit Pistons. “And then just recently these last few weeks, I’ve kind of left it alone. But he has come up to me, unprompted, and just asked how I’d feel about getting some minutes at that spot and making some plays and distributing.

“It’s something that will take some time with our offense. I would need to get some reps at it. But it is something I definitely feel I could be effective, that I could help this team with.”

Stauskas played 19 minutes Saturday, just a few late in the second quarter at the point alongside Gerald Henderson, and shot 0 for 5 with no assists.

“He wasn’t bad at the point,” Brown said afterward. “It was a chance to try something.”

With Bayless and Simmons out, and with Stauskas less than properly conditioned for the full-time task, the race for the starting point guard spot is between Sergio Rodriguez and T.J. McConnell. Rodriguez started Saturday and showed exceptional court vision… not that it helped much with a team that would shoot 25 for 68, including 3-for-20 from three-point range.

Despite starting Rodriguez in both halves, Brown warned not to assume the competition is over. Rodriguez played 23:44 and shot 1 for 5 with seven assists. McConnell played 16:07, shot 2 for 3 and had one assist.