Kostas Papanikolaou Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Durant, Mudiay, Papanikolaou

November 6th, 2015 at 10:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Durant is well known around the league for his humility, which was certainly on display when he called teammate Russell Westbrook the best player on the Thunder, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays. The Slim Reaper’s comments came mere months after he had proclaimed himself the “world’s best player,” Slater notes. When asked about Westbrook comment, Durant explained, “That’s how I feel. And he feels the same about me. We hold each other on that pedestal. That’s what makes us great teammates. I believe he’s the best player in the world, and he believes the same about me. Of course I’m gonna say that. There’s gonna be nights where I’m the best player on the team. There’s gonna be nights where he’s the best player on the team, when Dion Waiters is the best player on the team. That’s how I feel about my teammates. A lot of people may read into it but any given night it’s different.”

Here’s more from out of the Northwest:

Not surprisingly, Nuggets coach Michael Malone doesn’t have the doubts about Emmanuel Mudiay‘s ability that Byron Scott said he had going into the draft, when the Lakers picked D’Angelo Russell instead. Bill Oram of the Orange County Register has the details. “Unlike some others, we feel he is a point guard that can make good decisions and we feel he’s going to showcase that throughout the season,” Malone said.
Kostas Papanikolaou‘s two-year, minimum salary deal with the Nuggets includes a partial guarantee of $350K for the 2015/16 season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
Thunder big man Enes Kanter is fitting in well with the team and the community, a distinct difference from his time spent in Utah with the Jazz, Nick Gallo of NBA.com writes. “Enes has really embraced the community since he arrived in Oklahoma City last season,” said Christine Berney, the Thunder’s Vice President of Community Relations. “From planting trees in Myriad Gardens during NBA Green Week last spring to stopping by the OKC Turkish Festival this fall to visiting the kids and families at OU and Children’s Hospital after the tragedy at OSU’s Homecoming parade, Enes has been so generous with his time. He’s a great ambassador for the team, and a pleasure to work with.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nuggets Re-Sign Papanikolaou, Waive Green

November 5th, 2015 at 11:42am CST by Chuck Myron

11:42am: The moves are official, the team announced via press release.

10:10am: The Nuggets are waiving Erick Green to clear the way for the return of Kostas Papanikolaou, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post confirms the team is indeed expected to re-sign Papanikolaou, whom Denver cut before the season (Twitter link). The Nuggets are thin in the frontcourt with injuries to Wilson Chandler, Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic, as Wojnarowski and Dempsey point out (Twitter link), so Papanikolaou, a 6’8″ combo forward, can shore up that part of the team. Green, a point guard, was on a deal partially guaranteed for $100K, so the Nuggets will owe him that amount if he clears waivers.

It’s possible that Lauvergne and Jokic will play tonight, according to Dempsey (Twitter link), so the Nuggets don’t qualify for a hardship provision of a 16th roster spot, which would require them to have four players who are expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks. Thus, Denver, which has been carrying the maximum 15 players, has to drop a player in order to add one.

Papanikolaou, a 25-year-old native of Greece, averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game across 43 appearances with the Rockets last season, his first in the NBA. He didn’t live up to his contract, worth more than $9MM over two years, and they traded him to the Nuggets in the Ty Lawson deal. Denver released Papanikolaou before his nearly $4.798MM salary for this season would have become guaranteed, and that was no surprise after he averaged just 1.8 points per game for the Greek national team at this summer’s Eurobasket tournament.

It’s a quick turn of fortunes for Green, whom the Nuggets kept instead of Nick Johnson when they had to trim their roster at the end of the preseason. Johnson, another player who came to Denver in the Lawson trade, had $1.825MM worth of guaranteed salary remaining over two seasons on his contract. Still, Green, the 46th pick in the 2013 draft, had yet to score in only about seven minutes of action so far this season.

Do you think the Nuggets are making a wise move? Leave a comment to let us know.

Nuggets Waive Kostas Papanikolaou

September 28th, 2015 at 7:52am CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 28TH, 7:52am: The move indeed took place Friday, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team still hasn’t made an official announcement.

SEPTEMBER 25TH, 4:12pm: The Nuggets have waived Papanikolaou, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

AUGUST 3RD, 8:01am: Papanikolaou’s camp is unaware of any pending waiver, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Denver’s plan is to keep him until the Eurobasket tournament begins in December, and evaluate him then, sources tell Varlas. Nuggets GM Tim Connelly and assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas are set to head to Europe to scout Papanikolaou and others.

AUGUST 2ND, 3:03pm: Papanikolaou is not being waived by the Nuggets at this time, Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post tweets.

AUGUST 1ST, 2:30pm: The Nuggets will waive Kostas Papanikolaou, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). His $4,797,664 deal was non-guaranteed.

Papanikolaou played for the Rockets last season and was traded to Denver as part of the Ty Lawson swap last month. Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected 2016 first-round pick were also forwarded to the Nuggets in the deal. Houston exercised its option on Papanikolaou in June and his salary would have been guaranteed if he remained on Denver’s roster past October 4th.

With plenty of other forward options, the Nuggets had no intention of keeping Papanikolaou and wanted his non-guaranteed contract in order to shed salary.

The 6’9” forward was a regular part of the Rockets’ rotation during the first half of the 2014/15 season, but the acquisition of Josh Smith cut into the 24-year-old’s minutes and he also battled an ankle injury. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Papanikolaou, Jazz

August 1st, 2015 at 8:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Denver will drop to about $7MM below the salary cap once they officially waive Kostas Papanikolaou, former Nets exec Bobby Marks notes on Twitter. Marks adds that Milwaukee, Minnesota, Cleveland and Golden State have trade exceptions while Philadelphia and Portland have the cap space to claim the forward’s salary, which is worth slightly less than $4.8MM.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

If claimed, the 24-year-old’s contract will become guaranteed should he remain on the roster past October 4th. Any team that claims Papanikolaou off waivers cannot trade him until the 30th day of the regular season, as Marks notes on Twitter. With the season set to kick-off on October 27th, claiming the forward will not provide a potential suitor with the same type of valuable trade chip that the Nuggets previously possessed.
The Jazz didn’t sign any outside free agents because they didn’t want to block any of their young players’ development, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM writes. Tjarks argues that most year-to-year improvements come from internal development rather than transactions in the offseason and the Jazz could end up being the team that improved the most due to their up-and-coming, young core.
Utah knew Enes Kanter was probably not going to be worth the mammoth contract he was set to receive this offseason and with the number of young players on the roster set to earn raises over the next few seasons, the team could not afford to add an ill-advised contract, Tjarks adds in the same piece.

Rockets Acquire Ty Lawson

July 20th, 2015 at 4:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 20TH, 4:25pm: The Nuggets have waived Prigioni, and the deal is official, Denver announced in a press release. In a condition of the trade, Lawson has agreed to make the 2016/17 season, the final year of his contract, non-guaranteed, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). As part of the deal, the Nuggets receive cash considerations, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston tweets. The press release from the Rockets notes that it’s their own lottery-protected 2016 pick going to Denver.

SUNDAY, 8:16pm: The Rockets have reached a deal with the Nuggets that will send Ty Lawson to Houston, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com had tweeted just moments earlier that the sides were deep in talks. Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected 2016 first-round pick go to Denver, Wojnarowski adds (All Twitter links). Houston will receive a 2017 second-round pick in addition to Lawson, as Wojnarowski also reports (on Twitter). The first-rounder going to Denver is lottery-protected, and the second-rounder headed to Houston is unprotected, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The move, when it becomes official, will bring an end to Lawson’s tenure with the Nuggets even though GM Tim Connelly and coach Michael Malone both expressed their support for the troubled point guard in recent days.

Chris Mannix of SI.com last week identified the Rockets as a team with interest in the point guard even in the wake of his latest DUI-related arrest, which came Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. It was his second such arrest in six months. Lawson entered a 30-day residential treatment program on Saturday.

Houston made more sense as a Lawson suitor than the Pistons or the Lakers, the two other teams Mannix identified in his report from last week, since both Detroit and L.A. made major investments in point guards this summer. The Pistons agreed to re-sign Reggie Jackson for $80MM and the Lakers drafted D’Angelo Russell No. 2 overall. The Lakers indeed made a determined push, but the Nuggets preferred what Houston offered, Stein reports (on Twitter). Rockets re-signed Patrick Beverley, but only for $23MM over four years. Beverley and Lawson now figure to compete for minutes.

The Kings and Nuggets reportedly spoke about Lawson prior to the draft, but Sacramento apparently wasn’t willing to give up the No. 6 pick in exchange for him in large measure because of the 27-year-old’s off-court issues. By contrast, Lawson’s talent appears to have convinced Houston it’s worth taking a shot on him, as he’s coming off a career-high 9.6 assists per game.

The trade nonetheless carries financial consequences for the Rockets. Lawson’s contract calls for him make more than $12.404MM this season and in excess of $13.213MM in 2016/17, and the exchange as reported so far will push Houston over the $84.74MM luxury tax threshold by about $500K, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The Rockets have until the end of the regular season to go under that line and avoid paying the tax. Houston faces a hard cap of $4MM above the tax line if it signs No. 32 pick Montrezl Harrell to a contract that covers more than two seasons at the minimum salary, as Marks also points out (on Twitter). The swap also means the Rockets aren’t in line to open cap space next summer, Marks adds (Twitter link).

The Nuggets meanwhile go under the cap with the deal and are set to open an estimated $46MM in cap space next summer, Marks tweets. Papanikolaou’s salary of nearly $4.798MM for this coming season is non-guaranteed, and Prigioni’s salary of almost $1.735MM carries only a $440K partial guarantee. Dorsey’s pay of about $1.015MM and Johnson’s approximately $845K salary are fully guaranteed, but they don’t make much of a dent in the Nuggets payroll.

The most significant on-court effect for Denver is that No. 7 overall pick Emmanuel Mudiay, also a point guard, has a clear shot to lead the team. The Nuggets re-signed Jameer Nelson, who seems to have a decent shot to begin the coming season as a starter, but Mudiay is clearly the team’s future at the position, and Malone had no shortage of enthusiasm about his play during summer league, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Did the Nuggets get a fair return for Lawson, considering the circumstances? Leave a comment to have your say.

Rockets Exercise Option On Papanikolaou

June 24th, 2015 at 4:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets have exercised their team option for Kostas Papanikolaou, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The forward is set to earn $4,797,664 during the 2015/16 campaign, and though his deal is a non-guaranteed one, it would become fully guaranteed if he remains on Houston’s roster past October 4th.

On Sunday, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle noted that the team was on the fence regarding Papanikolaou’s option. Houston was reportedly considering rolling the dice and declining its option on the forward, and would then try and re-sign him as a free agent this summer. The Rockets already have $54,629,767 in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2015/16 season, and the addition of Papanikoloau’s salary would increase that amount to $59,427,431.

Papanikolaou was a regular part of the Rockets’ rotation during the first half of the 2014/15 season, but the acquisition of Josh Smith cut into the 24-year-old’s minutes the rest of the way. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

Rockets Mulling Options On Papanikolaou

June 21st, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have not decided whether to exercise the team option on Kostas Papanikolaou‘s contract or try to re-sign him as a free agent, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Rockets VP Gersson Rosas told Feigen the team is still mulling both options, though they want the 6’9” forward back.

This contradicts a recent report by Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia that the team had already decided to exercise the team option. Still, Papanikolaou’s salary of nearly $4.798MM wouldn’t become guaranteed until October 4th, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first revealed, even if Houston indeed picks up its team option by the deadline, which is June 29th unless the sides negotiated an earlier date.

The Rockets would still retain his Non-Bird rights to re-sign him if they declined the option. He would then become a restricted free agent if they extended a qualifying offer of close to $6MM, but that qualifying offer would entail guaranteed salary. If the Rockets don’t extend a qualifying offer, they would have to renounce his rights to rid themselves of his cap hold of more than $5.757MM. Thus, picking up the option would give the Rockets the most flexibility possible, while still allowing them to have the final say on whether Papanikolaou plays for them next season.

Papanikolaou cracked the rotation in the first half of last season but the acquisition of Josh Smith limited his minutes the rest of the way. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

Rockets To Pick Up Papanikolaou’s Option

June 12th, 2015 at 10:19am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets will exercise their team option to keep Kostas Papanikolaou under contract for next season, sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Still, Papanikolaou’s salary of nearly $4.798MM wouldn’t become guaranteed until October 4th, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first revealed, even if Houston indeed picks up its team option by the deadline to do so later this month. That deadline is June 29th, unless the sides negotiated an earlier date.

Thus, the move to keep him under contract for now comes as no surprise, as declining the option wouldn’t give the Rockets much more benefit than they could otherwise reap. The Rockets would have Non-Bird rights to re-sign him if they declined the option and could make him a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of close to $6MM, but that qualifying offer would entail guaranteed salary. Even if the Rockets didn’t extend a qualifying offer, his cap hold would be more than $5.757MM unless they renounced his rights. In short, picking up the option would give the Rockets the most flexibility possible while still allowing them to have the final say on whether Papanikolaou plays for them next season.

Carchia suggests a trade is a possibility, and indeed, a non-guaranteed salary as large as Papanikolaou’s represents a useful trade chip for salary matching purposes, particularly if Rockets GM Daryl Morey does business with a team that wants to clear cap room. Houston made a lucrative bet on the Greek forward last summer, and while he cracked the rotation in the first half of the season, the acquisition of Josh Smith cut off most of his playing time, as Carchia points out. Papanikolaou averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

And-Ones: Papanikolaou, Popovich, Warriors

October 5th, 2014 at 12:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets forward Kostas Papanikolaou‘s $4,591,066 salary has become fully-guaranteed today since he is still on Houston’s preseason roster past the October 4th trigger date in the revamped deal he inked. This now gives the team 15 fully guaranteed deals out of the 20 on the Rockets’ preseason roster.

Here’s more from around the league:

The pairing of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan is nearing the end. In the past Popovich has been quoted as saying that he would retire when Duncan did, but that might have changed, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. Popovich recently said, “That’s very possible. I always said that [he’d leave with Duncan], because it’s kind of a funny line. It seems pretty logical and smart to do that. I know where my bread is buttered. But I basically made the same commitments to Manu Ginobili and to Tony Parker that when they signed contracts, they wanted to know if I’m going to be here and I tell them I am, so it’s pretty tough to go ahead and leave.” Ginobili is signed through next season and Parker is under contract through 2018, but it’s the emergence of Kawhi Leonard that might be a bigger incentive since it will keep the team’s championship window open, opines Lee.
During his first stint with the Raptors and head coach Dwane Casey, James Johnson had a number of confrontations that eventually led to Johnson being suspended and ultimately dealt to the Kings at the end of the 2011/12 season. Johnson is back in Toronto and under the eye of Casey, but things are much improved between them now, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun writes. Johnson credits a stint in the D-League as what changed him, saying, “I flourished in the D-League. I am happy to say my career was bumpy but going down to the D-league made the old James Johnson not exist anymore.”
There’s a new regime in Golden State with Steve Kerr replacing Mark Jackson as head coach. Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle profiled the Warriors coaching staff and what each brings to the court and to the locker room for the team.

Rockets Notes: Papanikolaou, Dunn, Howard

September 30th, 2014 at 6:51pm CST by Alex Lee

The Rockets have been busy lately, finally inking Francisco Garcia to a new contract yesterday and earlier tonight deciding to exercise the options on Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas come late October. Let’s see what else is going on in Houston on Tuesday night:

Kostas Papanikolaou‘s new contract with the Rockets isn’t guaranteed unless he sticks on the roster through Saturday, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, who adds that next season carries both non-guaranteed salary and a team option (Twitter link).
Rockets head coach Kevin McHale has hired T.R. Dunn as an assistant coach, the team announced today. This will be the second stint in Houston for Dunn, who was also an assistant on Rick Adelman‘s Rockets staff from 2007 to 2011. The defensive-minded coach has been an assistant in Minnesota since then and also spent time on staffs in Sacramento, Denver and Charlotte.
While Dwight Howard can become a free agent at 30 in the summer of 2016, GM Daryl Morey likes his chances of re-signing him, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe in a longer, Rockets-based piece. “We’re the first team Dwight has ever picked,” said Morey. “James [Harden] and Dwight are a combo you can win a title with, and we plan to have them here for the remainder of their careers.”

Chuck Myron also contributed to this post.