In surprising news, the Denver Nuggets are releasing forward Kostas Papanikolaou for the second time this season, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nuggets had until Jan. 10th to decide whether or not to keep Papanikolaou and his $800,000 salary for this season, after Jan. 10th his deal would have become fully guaranteed (guaranteed $350,000 if waived before Jan. 10th).
The Denver Nuggets are releasing forward Kostas Papanikolaou, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 7, 2016
Papanikolaou was re-signed by the Nuggets after the team found out that Wilson Chandler would miss the season after undergoing hip surgery. The move to sign Papanikolaou was made when the team released combo guard Erick Green. Papanikolaou appeared in 26 games for the Nuggets and averaged 2.6 points in just over 11 minutes per game.
Nuggets will probably look to sign someone to a 10-day contract which can now be offered. Erick Green has been on fire in the D League.
— Harrison Wind (@NBAWind) January 7, 2016
The Nuggets have been thin at point guard and small forward this season, so the team could be looking to add depth on the wing or at the point position. The Utah Jazz recently released Elijah Millsap on Jan. 5th and the brother of Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap could be a target for Denver. The team could also look another direction for a backup for Danilo Gallinari, or they could try to find some depth at point with Emmanuel Mudiay missing extended time with an ankle sprain (he’s missed 13 straight games, but was expected back last night vs. the Timberwolves).
One name that could have been a potential add: Nikola Radicevic — the point guard the Nuggets drafted with the 57th pick of the 2015 draft. But Radicevic underwent surgery in late Oct. 2015 to repair a torn labrum in his hip (the same surgery Wilson Chandler underwent), and he won’t be back on the court any time soon.
Nikola Radicevic pg of BC Sevilla, underwent surgery on hip labrum. We are looking forward to see him on the court soon ! #TeamWass
— alexander raskovic (@alexraskovic) October 25, 2015
Papanikolaou had been filling in admirably for Gallo when the forward needed some rest, but the Nuggets chose to move on from him and we’ll see where they look to fill the roster void in the coming days.
