A closer look at Nuggets forward Kostas Papanikolaou

When the Denver Nuggets traded Point Guard Ty Lawson to the Houston Rockets, the general consensus on the deal was that the return was less than advertised. We as fans knew that Lawson's value had gone down, and some of the players received would probably be salary cap fodder anyway; however, there was not Terrence Jones, no Sam Dekker, not even Clint Capela. When the terms of the deal came back as Joey Dorsey, Pablo Prigioni, Nick Johnson, and Kostas Papanikolaou, disregarding the picks for the time being, everyone breathed a sigh of slight disappointment that the return wasn't stronger for a borderline All-Star point guard, one who called Denver his home for six years.

I'm here to tell you, though, that we as fans have missed the boat on the guy with the Greek name. Papa (as I will refer to him from now on) has the potential to be a key cog in the rotation if given the opportunity, and here are some of the reasons why:

A Quick Overview of Papa

Papa's Highlights

Showing potential to be a difference maker

Papanikolaou was born in Greece and played overseas until last year. After being a draft and stash candidate by the New York Knicks in 2012. His rights were traded to Houston and he was given a large, unnatural contract by Daryl Morey, the GM of the Rockets, that while large in number was completely non-guaranteed. This led many to believe that Morey would use Papa as an asset in a trade rather than on the court. But what of his on-court skills?

Strengths

Physical Profile
Basketball IQ
Facilitation Skills
Hustle

Papa Dunks on Sanders

At 6'9 and 235 pounds, Papa gives off the impression of playing smaller than he really is. People forget that he is prototypical size for the small forward position and outmatches our own Kenneth Faried in size at power forward. As shown in the above clip, Papa has the sneaky ability to rise up and flush over bigger guys. It may not be his preferred option, but remains a tool in his toolbox. The same could be said for Danilo Gallinari who rarely showed off his athleticism unless he needed to.

Another major strength for Papa is his Basketball IQ, which goes hand in hand with his passing skills. In the first video, Papa makes crisp passes ahead to other players, pocket passes in the pick and roll, and passes up relatively open threes for easy twos. He averaged 5.1 Assists per 48 minutes which ranked 8th among SFs. His skills remind me a great deal of Rudy Fernandez in this department. Don't chastise me for comparing him to another Euro. Both players had a high basketball IQ with a slight flair for the dramatic. Here's a specific play that I want to highlight for Papa:

Papa throws a Strike

This pass takes some balls. After the quick reaction to the block, Papa grabs the ball and whips it ahead to Ariza in between the outstretched arms of two defenders. This shows his vision, strength, and confidence in his ability to make plays. Count me in as a believer in his ability as a facilitator off the bench.

The last part I will point to is his hustle. This is hard to quantify, but the stats I will point to are his steals and rebounds per 48 minutes. Obviously this is an inexact science, but it goes to show how much effort we can expect to see from him on the defensive end.

7.1 Rebounds per 48 minutes (53rd among SFs) - Comparable to Danilo Gallinari, Chandler Parsons, and Jeff Green. Interestingly, he averaged 0.9 Offensive Rebounds per game in just 18.5 minutes per game, so his nose for the ball is pretty strong.

1.75 Steals per 48 minutes (30th among SFs) - Smack in the middle between Gordon Hayward and Nicolas Batum, both known to have good hands on the defensive end.

Weaknesses

Shooting/Scoring
One on One defense

There's no way around it…Papa was not very good shooting the ball last year. He started the season well in October and the beginning of November, but up until mid-December when he suffered an ankle injury, he did not shoot the ball particularly well from any spot on the floor. He did shoot 53% in the restricted area throughout the year, but that is a relatively average number.

The caveat in this is, the Rockets didn't give him a chance after the All-Star Break to improve upon his percentages. He only played in four games after the break compared to 39 beforehand. Rookies notoriously struggle with their shooting percentages in the first season and need consistent reps to improve, yet the Rockets chose to acquire Josh Smith and Corey Brewer, which effectively stagnated any development Kostas could have had.

Also, the defensive concerns as the season wore on for Kostas were legitimate. His defensive rating grew worse as the months of the season wore on. This could be due to a number of factors like the ankle injury, Dwight Howard going down and forcing Joey Dorsey and Tarik Black into action, etc. but those are the facts. As I pointed out above, effort and desire is not the issue with Papa, so I'm going to put the defensive issue as more of a secondary factor.

***

So what does this mean for Kostas Papanikolaou and his wonderful name on the Denver Nuggets? Well, because his contract isn't guaranteed, there is not a guarantee he will even be on the roster by the time training camp opens. I believe it would be a mistake to discount him, though. Tim Connelly has made a point of flexing his muscle in the European scouting department with the Nuggets before. Who would have thought that Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic would look so capable? Is Papa the next Euro to join the group?

Time will tell, but prior events would lead me to believe that this talented Greek player has a place in the NBA and can be a mainstay in the Nuggets rotation, now and in the future.

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A closer look at Nuggets forward Kostas Papanikolaou

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