Michigan Basketball: Former Wolverines find new homes in NBA

Former Michigan basketball standouts Nik Stauskas and Derrick Walton Jr. found new homes in the NBA Thursday with the Bucks and 76ers respectively.

Two of the best Michigan basketball players of the John Beilein era had plenty to be thankful about Thursday as both Nik Stauskas and Derrick Walton Jr. signed new deals with NBA teams.

Stauskas, who was was the Big Ten player of the Year while playing for Michigan basketball during the 2013-14 season, was also the No. 8 overall pick at one time. He spent last season playing professionally in Spain before signing a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.

The former Wolverine has played in five NBA seasons and has more than 300 career games with 63 career starts under his belt and a career scoring average of 6.8 ppg. He also has averaged two rebounds and 1.2 assists, although his best asset is his 3-point shooting (35.3 percentage).

Stauskas could be joining another former Michigan basketball player in Milwaukee as D.J. Wilson was recently supposed to be traded from the Bucks before the deal fell apart. Wilson is another former first-round pick who played for Beilein.

As far as Stauskas, here’s what he said recently in an interview with 247 sports about his last season playing in Spain:

"“The level of competition was great. I only signed a one-year deal here. I’ll be a free agent again. My main focus right now is just getting myself healthy after the surgery. I really don’t know what the next chapter brings for me but the goal for me is to always get back to the NBA at some point. I’ll continue working for that no matter what.”"

Stauskas missed part of the season due to injury and he will try to find his form next season with the Bucks, a season which is supposed to start next month. He averaged 14 points and was a career 44 percent shooter from beyond the arc with the Wolverines.

Walton Jr.  gets a chance with the 76ers

Walton Jr. will also get another chance in the NBA as he signed a non-guaranteed deal with the 76ers according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Walton played 26 games last season between the Clippers and Pistons and averaged two points a game. He has 42 career games after going into the league as an undrafted free agent.

He got his first chance in the NBA with the Miami Heat, when Juwan Howard was still an assistant coach. He has also played overseas.