By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou is thinking of making an NBA comeback while “several teams” have already expressed an interest in acquiring him, according to ESPN reporter Ian Begley.
Papanikolaou, 28, is a free agent after finishing the season with Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece and is mulling a return the NBA where he previously played with the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets from 2014 to early 2016. That NBA run didn’t go as planned for Papanikolaou who joined Olympiacos in January 2016.
Olympiacos head coach David Blatt wants to keep Papanikolaou on board since the player is considered a key part of the core of the squad. After re-signing team captain Vassilis Spanoulis, (a matter which was the priority for the management of Olympiacos following the hiring of a new head coach), the Greek club will turn its focus to the cases of Papanikolaou and also fellow Greek forward Ioannis Papapetrou.
Papanikolaou, a two-time EuroLeague champion with Olympiacos in 2012 (when he was named EuroLeague Final MVP) and 2013, notched 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1 steal averaging 24 minutes per game in the 2017-2018 EuroLeague season.