Back in the 2007 draft the Rockets had alleged pre-draft "interest" yeah that isn't reliable but they did work him out. At 6-4 he's a big PG. During the season I think Adelman had mentioned the Rockets were small at the one. So reaching maybe some interest there? The Blazers have two free roster spots but one of those is definately going to Batum who has no current deal in Europe and he doesn't want to go back there. McMillan still hasn't gotten that veteran addition who he claimed on the day of their exit interviews as being the Blazer's off-season priority. Pre-draft the Blazers were supposedly trying to ditch Sergio Rodriguez but no other team wanted him. Rodriguez is also meant to be at loggerheads with the Blazers who wanted him to participate at Summer League but he won't be there... Jackson + Francis + Novak (min. exception) for Pryzbilla + Rodriguez + draft rights to Koponen = Rockets save $2.33M* or Jackson + Head + Novak for Pryzbilla + Rodriguez + draft rights to Koponen = Rockets save $1.66M* or Jackson + Hayes + Novak for Pryzbilla + Rodriguez + draft rights to Koponen = Rockets save $1.63M* * not incl. Koponen's salary Rockets under LT by c. $1.34M if combined with savings from above that's roughly how much they can spend on Landry with an eye on LT. So if the Rockets re-sign Landry to a reasonable contract the Rockets can either stay under LT or are in striking range to get back under. Rodriguez is an expiring contract (team option 09/10). Rockets can just waive him if they need be or better yet move him for a TE which would further help the Rockets LT situation. If Miles plays 10 games next season this is like insurance for the Blazers salary cap for next free agency since they won't have Pryzbilla's contract. http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=121573403488406900 ”
He's playing in a worse league than Badiane was. The Finnish League. He needs about 5 years before he should even think about the NBA. He probably needs at least 3 years before he could even think about starting in a decent Euroleague club.
Badiane was a soccer player who they tried to turn into a basketball player and went from a good league to bad. As a PG he would've needed a good level of basketball skills to impress at workouts and at the Orlando camp before the draft. Which he did as he was a nobody who garnered some hype from those workouts and as the article stated the Blazers did fork out $3 million to draft him. The Rockets need to cut salary and add a backup C. This could be an opportunity to pick up a free first round pick in the process.
Going from the Finnish League to the NBA is just like going from high school to the NBA. This guy would be a huge project and would not be in the Rockets rotation for a long time.
That's what the NBDL is for right? Not sure about any of the trades you proposed hooroo --> but IF we manage to shuffle away some contracts, and IF he's actually worth a look, then it'd be well worth trading a future second rounder to have a better look in D-league!
Koponen is a natural pass first shoot 2nd PG with good court vision and good decision making ability. His outside shot needs improvement but it's not bad. He is quite athletic too and is tall. He definitely needs to get stronger and get far more experience. After reading this article about him,it seems he wants guaranteed minutes if he gets a chance in the NBA. He might get disgruntled quickly in the D-League and go back to Europe in a better league than where he is right now. Things have changed a lot in Europe with bigger amounts of money being offered along with long contracts with difficult buyouts. It seems like the days of keeping a player like Kirilenko for a couple of years and then bringing him to the US are fading away quickly. I was hoping the Rockets would take a chance on him and then bring him over after it became obvious that Sean Williams wouldn't drop down to us.
Finnish league isn't actually so bad. Every team has three professional American players and few professional or semi-professional hometown players and few young guys. It isn't Italian league or Spain's, of course, but it isn't that bad.
I want to get the guy just so that, when he gets called on for rookie garbabe time duty, coach can tell Petteri go out there and Finnish the game.
I would love to have this guy and stash him in the NBDL for a couple of years to see how he develops, but I don't think we have a roster spot available, unless we dump Francis.......which we should do if he is not 100% healthy. DD
Blazers virtually have 14 players signed. Batum's been assigned a number and Jason Quick claims Portland agreed to sign him this season before they traded for him. Pritchard apparently wants roster flexibilty with a leaving the 15th spot vacant. McMillan's still missing his coveted vet addition... http://www.nba.com/summerleague2008/games/boxscore.jsp?gameId=1520800015 http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/07/the_great_debate_to_sign_or_no.html http://www.nbadraft.net/node/1491
I never heard of this guy before last night's summer league game. He looked pretty good but Pritchard's gonna have to clear some room for him to make their roster. Blake and Bayless are already ahead of him, plus Roy plays the point position on offense half the time or more. Ike Diogu, Raef LaFrenz and Von Wafer are all candidates to find a ticket out of town. They may keep LaFrenz because of his big expiring contract.
He's going to be even less ready than Sergio Rodriguez was when he came to the NBA. The Rockets don't need a project just siting there taking a spot at PG. They need a better starter at PG and Rafer to the 2nd string.
If this guy is worse than Sergio Rodriguez, he may as well go back to Europe unless his upside makes it worth being inactive all 82 games next season. Or maybe the Blazers put him in the NBDL.
Perspective and understanding what others say. Sergio Rodriguez is not a bad player at all he just was not ready by a long stretch when he came to the NBA. A 3rd string player in Spain trying the NBA based on "potential". Now you have Koponen a starter from Europe trying the NBA based on potential. He's not "worse than Sergio Rodriguez" he's just even more unready. Sergio was a 3rd string in the best professional domestic league in Europe. Kopenen is coming from a league that is considered a minor league in Europe, and when I say minor I don't mean in importance, I mean non-professional when compared to domestic leagues like Spain and Greece. So you have a young 3rd string point guard from Spain trying to make the NBA on "potential" or a young starting point guard from a non-pro league in Europe trying to make the NBA on "potential". Just because a player is drafted from Europe does not mean he is considered a good player in Europe. I think there is a disconnect between fans in the US and this issue. If a player gets drafted from Europe, especially in the first round everyone assumes they are stars in Europe or even "dominate" over there. Not true at all. These guys are nothing at all in Europe. Because they are extremely young and unproven. The same was true for Dirk and Parker who were backups on minor level teams in Europe, but because they had great success there seems to be this idea that any 18-20 year old scrub from Europe in minor league or that rides the bench can come to the NBA and make it just because of his great "potential". he is drafted by the NBA in the first round because his potential is so great. Well for Parker and Dirk there is, Skita, Darko, Sergio, etc. None of them was even considered an average player in Europe when they try to make this jump. Some guys can that jump, some can't. they are not ready and it ruins them. It's just like some guys in the US can jump from high school and some can't. They might have all the tools and talent but making that jump is too much for them and it ruins them. This guy is very talented but he's no more ready for the NBA than a high school point guard is. The Rockets have no need for these types of players.
