Ah, the Internet. It’s a funny place. It’s also a really scary place. And for the Denver Nuggets and Kostas Papanikolaou, it’s been a very unreliable place as of late.
Two days ago international basketball reporter David Pick reported the Nuggets would waive Papanikolaou along with Joey Dorsey, both of whom were acquired from the Houston Rockets via the Ty Lawson trade. Two days later The Denver Post’s Christopher Dempsey is reporting that bit of news from Pick is untrue:
Right now, no one. Kostas Papanikolaou is not being waived by the #Nuggets at this time. https://t.co/gMhCwFCOHX
— Chris Dempsey (@dempseypost) August 2, 2015
As I stated in my initial report of Pick’s announcement, waiving Papanikolaou just doesn’t make sense — at least not right now:
While Dorsey was a near lock to be dismissed by the Nuggets prior to the start of the regular season, Papanikolaou is somewhat of a surprise. In fact, I’m a little bit stunned the Nuggets have chosen to waive one of the better players they received as part of the Lawson deal. Sure Papanikolaou didn’t have the most productive year as a rookie with the Rockets, but he still showed flashes of potential and seemed to fit in directly with the culture Denver’s been trying to cultivate this summer. It’s certainly unfortunate the Nuggets didn’t even give Papanikolaou a chance to show what he’s made of before cutting him.
The website EuroHoops.com further corroborated my sentiments regarding Papanikolaou in an article published shortly after Pick’s tweets. Below is an excerpt with perhaps the most information currently available on this subject across the Web:
On Saturday night, there were rumors about Denver releasing him. However at this point there are just rumors. Until now, the player’s side has no knowledge for this matter and the Nuggets hasn’t informed them about those kind of intentions.
According to Eurohoops sources, the Nuggets’ plan when they aquired Papanikolaou was to keep him in their roster and take their decision about him during Eurobasket, probably at the end of the tournament. That was their intention and that’s why they didn’t try to use his contract as a trade asset.
Denver’s GM Tim Conelly and his assistant Arturas Karnisovas have in their hands the full preparation schedule of the Greek national team and they intend to travel to Europe, see Papanikolaou play and also other players who play for Denver, or their rights belong to them.
This just makes so much more sense. As I’ve repeatedly stated, Papanikolaou might not make the Nuggets’ final 15-man roster but he at least deserves a chance to prove his worth before Oct. 4 when his contract becomes fully guaranteed. More than anything the Nuggets owe it to themselves to at least fastidiously examine all their assets — especially those from the Ty Lawson trade — before concluding whom they keep and whom they let go.
Furthermore, in conjunction with his youth and crafty skillset, one underrated aspect of Papanikolaou’s encompassing package is his contract. I know that sounds crazy considering he’s due $5 million next season as a sophomore (far more than Emmanuel Mudiay will make in 2016-17) but if the Nuggets wish to pry open more roster spots (they already need one for Darrell Arthur) $5 million in unwanted player salary can go a long way in facilitating a trade given the need for overcapped teams to match salaries at 125-percent accuracy per the NBA’s collective bargaining stipulations.
Denver’s best bet as of now is to hold onto Papanikolaou, see how he performs at Eurobasket (Greece plays its first game Aug. 9) and decide whether they want to keep or trade him within the upcoming six weeks. If general manager Tim Connelly determines Papanikolaou isn’t good enough to make the Nuggets’ final roster he can then spend a few weeks working the phones to see if someone would be interested in a salary-dump package of Hickson, Papanikolaou and perhaps a second-round draft pick in exchange for basically whatever their trade partner would give them. This would at least allow the Nuggets to open up a roster spot for Arthur and maybe even get something — even as miniscule as a second-round draft pick — in return. If nothing else, holding onto Papanikolaou at least buys the Nuggets time to fully assess their assets and plan their next set of moves rather than shooting first and asking questions later, so to speak.
