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Papanikolaou Signing With Rockets Next Week?
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All posts by Basketball InsidersUpdated1 hour ago on April 25, 2024
“Actually, what I was thinking was I didn’t want to be thinking like five years later that I had this opportunity and didn’t do it,” (Kostas) Papanikolaou said. “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I didn’t want to miss it. I thought, ‘This is the time.’ I spoke with the GM (Daryl Morey). The coach himself (Kevin McHale) called me. That means a lot to a player. But I just didn’t want to be stupid and lose this opportunity to be here, to live this dream to go to the NBA.”
Papanikolaou is expected to sign next week once his buyout makes its way through the FIBA approval process. Drafted by the Knicks in 2012, the Rockets acquired his rights in the space-clearing deal that sent Thomas Robinson to Portland in 2013. He is expected to compete for playing time off the bench, likely at small forward initially (though at 6-9, he could get time in the stretch four role Omri Casspi played last season).
