Kostas Papanikolaou: Should Cavs Claim him?
The Denver Nuggets acquired Kostas Papanikolaou from the Houston Rockets as a part of the Ty Lawson trade. The 6’8′, 235 pound small forward is only 25 after playing his rookie year last year in Houston. He put up reasonable numbers in few minutes. He only played in 43 games, starting 1, and averaged 4.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.5 minutes per game.
Those numbers show a very solid, all around game for the young Greece native, yet the Nuggets are reportedly going to waive him. His contract is a unique one. He is set to earn about $4.7 million but his contract does not become guaranteed until October 4th of this season. This is a few days after teams are likely to start Training Camp.
The Cleveland Cavaliers still have roster space available and could use a young talent at the small forward position. The rest of their positions have young players playing important roles. PG Kyrie Irving is 23, SG Iman Shumpert is 25, PFs Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love are 24 and 26, Timofey Mozgov is still under 30 at 29. Kostas would give the Cavs a 3 spot some youth, he just turned 25 days ago, behind LeBron James at 30 and Richard Jefferson at 35.
The smooth shooting lefty hit on almost 40% of his 3 point attempts overseas, though he struggled in his rookie season in the NBA, at 29%. His ability to distribute, rebound as well as shoot, earned him the 3 year deal with the Rockets. He is a perfect combination of upside along with proven ability from overseas.
The Cavs can actually claim him using part of their Traded Player Exception, according to former GM Bobby Marks:
DEN will drop about 7m below the cap after waiving Papanikolau. MIL, MIN, CLE, GSW have TE to claim if they want. PHI and POR with room.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 1, 2015
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This might be a difficult decision for GM David Griffin. Kostas seems to fit a need and has obvious talent along with his preferable age/experience combo. On the other hand, the Cavs would have to use nearly $5 million of their $10.5 million TPE from Brendan Haywood. That would limit their ability to trade for a high salaried player, even if they cut Kostas before his contract is guaranteed.
Adding a 25 year old, versatile small forward, that they could have under contract for 2 years, without having to trade any picks or players, seems like a win. However the opportunity cost associated with using part of their Haywood TPE could make it too much of a risk for Griffin.
After striking out on finding a player with Haywood’s deal, Griff may already know how limited his options with the TPE is and give Kostas a shot. He may not get a chance if a team with a higher claim number gets him but he should think long and hard about bringing in the lefty from Greece.
What do you think about the Cavs possibly claiming Kostas Papanikolau?