The Rockets can contribute up to $575K USD towards a buyout for Papanikolaou before it counts against the cap. Bima's comments in his cap review regarding Canaan are probably also relevant for Papanikolaou and Furkan Aldemir for that matter. I think it might be a bit tricky to fit those guys in, pending any other tangential moves (like Moving Asik / Lin and not taking much salary back, and not going out and signing a big money free agent). They could use the room exception to sign a couple of these guys, but that would also affect their ability an outside veteran free agent (Dunleavy, Brewer, etc.).
Papanikolaou's game looks like Parson's game so I'm pretty excited to see him as our back-up 3 if he comes.
He definitely intends to sign him. He's a complimentary player who will fit perfectly with Dwight, as he is an excellent floor spacer. Also, he will push Parsons to step up his D. Again on the trade, Morey made magic with it, as Koopa will see minutes and be very, very solid year 1.
It helps them visualize what to expect from a player. Sadly, most of the time a player is compared to someone who is better than him.
Papanikolaou could be the best player to come out of this trade, funnily enough. T-Rob, although hasn't shown very much, still has a lot of time to move out of the bust category. But Papanikolaou is a 22 year old 6 ft 9 starting SF of the team that won back-to-back championship in the Euroleague. How well he adjust to the NBA is a different story (V-Span dominates Euroleague but could not replicate success in the NBA) but barring poor attitude, I could see him becoming a Nicolas Batum type player.
He's that athletic and good on defense? Batum was swatting shots and getting steals and making hustle plays against us.
I think Batum is a really bad comparison. Batum is hyper athletic and Papanikolaou is considered to have below average athleticism. His strengths are his shooting, basketball IQ and size -- where as Batum's was originally speed, length and athleticism. I do agree he could be the best player in the trade...not to say that he will be, but he could be. I am pretty excited about picking him up and I hope he comes over this offseason. If we get Dunlevy I am not sure if he will get minutes though (not wanting to play behind two established 3's was why his agent asked the Blazers to trade his rights -- he apparently wants to come over into a roster spot). he may have to start out in the D League. I hope he is okay with that, I hear Greek players have a hard time adjusting to playing outside of Greece, and the D League thing could exacerbate those issues.
Papanikolaou has great shooting percentages from downtown, his TS% is a ridiculous 66%. He also averages 4.4 rebs, a steal, and .7 blocks in 24 minutes per game. To do that on a team like Olympiakos is no joke. Looks like he's got great role-player potential. Too bad he's Greek.
Because rather than being an unknown commodity, the player can be compared to someone who is known. This sets a benchmark to how good the player can be: poor man's Tony Parker, rich man's Gerald Wallace, etc. It also allows for conversation, and an idea of who the player can be, his skillset, etc. Some comparisons are just unfair, but they allow us to be somewhat educated on a specific player.
I did not ask why people make player comparisons. I asked why people get so wrapped up in them. For instance, the poster that, seemingly, bitterly brought up D-Mo's comparison being Dirk Nowitzki. I think there needs to be a level of prudence with comparisons. Don't compare a future role player to a HOFer. That just sets less logical minds up for disappointment, and the less logical minds tend to be the greater population of this forum (ie: those that start the most threads and those that are the vocal majority).
Regardless of what the agents want, this move was made to clear cap room, and stockpile the talent pool for the Rockets. Morey can pluck 2nd round talents and stash them in Europe. If they need them they'll bring them over. But, basketball is a young man's game - unless you become a star or find a niche.. So, chances are that these players may never pan-out.... But there is a chance they could - and as the article said, if Kosta Papanikolau was in this last NBA draft he'd of potentially been a 1st rounder (that sounds like a positive talent find for Morey). The 2nd rounders are plentiful who never came over... But, sometimes they do!
Because it's almost the only way for people, especially layperson to understand a player. The problem is people confuse comparison to best case example, some times to the ridiculous level. That's why you saw things like DeShawn Stevenson is like Michael Jordan, and Eddie Griffin is like Kevin Garnett. Some times it even works against the players. For example, the Utah Jazz chose Raul Lopez over Tony Parker, because they though Lopez is like John Stockton, and Tony Parker is like Stephon Marbury. Ooops!