Seltzer’s Notebook: Stauskas Wants to Set Tone, Encouraging Embiid Update

More Veterans Added to Sixers’ Summer League RosterFriday afternoon, the Sixers announced several summer league roster additions, and they were noteworthy ones. Jerami Grant and Nik Stauskas, two of last season’s steady contributors who are both heading into the third year of their respective careers, will be available over the next week for the Samsung NBA Summer League. While Grant wasn’t due to arrive in Las Vegas until the weekend, Stauskas got into town Thursday, and practiced with the Sixers on Friday at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas.”With last year, only winning 10 games, I think we just want to turn things around,” said Stauskas, when asked why he considered it important to join the Sixers this week. “It starts here in summer league.”With rising second-year players Richaun Holmes, T.J. McConnell, and Christian Wood set to stay on with the team after also having competed in last week’s Utah Jazz Summer League, the Sixers figure to boast one of the more experienced teams in Las Vegas’ field of 24.Stauskas said, “For the veteran guys to be back here, and Jerami to join us, and even have Joel [Embiid] here supporting, I think it’s just great for us to build chemistry and also get some wins on the board.”Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Stauskas being acquired by the Sixers. He came to the organization via a July 8th, 2015 swap with Sacramento.  The Kings originally selected Stauskas eighth overall in the 2014 draft.Embiid Updates Remain PositiveSpeaking of Joel Embiid, the latest update on the big man, which came Friday from Sixers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce, was encouraging.”We know he’s healthy,” Pierce said of Embiid. “He’s been in a great spot for the last couple of months.”Embiid traveled to Las Vegas earlier this week so that he could be on hand to support the Sixers as they enter the thick of their summer league schedule.   “He’s just trying to get in conditioning, get basketball skill, feel comfortable on the floor,” said Pierce, who will serve as the Sixers’ lead coach in the Samsung NBA Summer League.As of late, the intensity of the basketball-related activities assigned to Embiid has increased.  The third pick in the 2014 draft has even recently cleared to start participating in some five-on-five drills.   “[He] had nice little run back in Philadelphia, and we’ve taken that away from him,” said Pierce, noting that many of the Sixers who had been in town for off-season training are now with the team out west.Regardless of what type of on-court work Embiid puts in with the Sixers over the next few days, the organization believes his presence in Las Vegas has value. “This allows him to still be around the coaches and players on and off the court,” Pierce said. “They see him working, he gets to see them working.”Simmons Eager to Reconnect with RussellWith the Sixers beginning their Samsung NBA Summer League schedule Saturday versus the Los Angeles Lakers, Ben Simmons – the number one choice in June’s draft – will not only likely be on the court at the same time as this year’s number two selection, Brandon Ingram, but D’Angelo Russell, the second pick from 2015, as well.Simmons and Russell overlapped at Montverde Academy for two years, with both seasons netting the central Florida institution national championship titles.  During the 2013-2014 campaign, when Simmons was a junior and Russell a senior, the two were roommates.”We’re like brothers kind of,” Simmons said Friday. “Going against him will be fun.”A year ago, Russell averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 28.2 minutes per game, en route to garnering NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.”He’s a great player, great person, so I’m looking forward to just going against him,” said Simmons. The two friends were featured in a pretty good Foot Locker ad campaign that launched last month, in the days leading up to the draft.”I always talk to him for advice,” said Simmons. “He always just tells me to work hard, play the game. He’s been telling me the same thing since I was a sophomore in high school.”