Knicks, Blazers Discussing Kostas Papanikolaou

Last July, the Knicks sent the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou to Portland as part of the sign-and-trade deal that netted them Raymond Felton. Almost a year later, New York is trying to find a way to get Papanikolaou back. Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that the Knicks have offered second-round picks and cash to the Trail Blazers in an attempt to reacquire Papanikolaou's rights.

Considering how many future second-rounders the Knicks have traded away, there aren't many left to offer in a deal with the Blazers. New York's own 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 second-round picks are ticketed for Washington, Houston, Houston again, and Portland, respectively. The Knicks do have 2014 second-rounders from the Kings and Thunder, but Sacramento's pick is heavily protected and is unlikely to change hands. So New York could probably only offer Oklahoma City's 2014 second-rounder (likely to be near the very end of the draft) or picks in 2017 and beyond.

In any case, Portland doesn't appear willing to give up Papanikolaou's rights for the second-rounders the Knicks are offering. According to Berman, the Blazers countered by asking for the Knicks' 24th overall pick this week, with New York receiving Portland's No. 39 pick along with Papanikolaou in the proposed swap. However, Knicks GM Glen Grunwald is reluctant to give up New York's first-round pick.

Papanikolaou's Greek representative, George Sfairopoulos, indicated last month that he expected the Blazers to trade his client, since there didn't seem to be room at small forward on the team's roster to bring him stateside anytime soon. According to Berman, the Blazers are shopping Papanikolaou at the request of his U.S. agent, Marc Cornstein, and the team may have received offers from other clubs picking in the late-20s. GM Neil Olshey and the Blazers figure to wait until draft night to determine exactly who is available toward the end of the first round, says Berman.

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