GOING OVERSEAS: Kostas Papanikolaou, playing in the Euroleague final in May, was selected with the 48th overall pick in the NBA Draft last night by the Knicks, but because of a $1 million buyout clause in his contract, he likely will not play in the NBA next season. (AFP/Getty Images)
It’s all Greek to Knicks fans who thought the club would take a step forward last night in the NBA Draft in trying to win now and build up their bench.
It wasn’t worth the wait. With the witching hour approaching, the Knicks selected late last night unheralded Greek 6-foot-8 small forward Kostas Papanikolaou with the 48th pick.
The 21-year-old won’t play for the Knicks this season and Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald gave no assurance he will play the following year either. Did somebody say Frederic Weis?
Papanikolaou has a $1 million buyout with his Greek team, Olympiakos, after this season. As he’s under contract, Papanikolauo can’t even play for the Knicks’ summer-league team next month. A source said after Kevin Murphy was taken at 47th by Utah, no one was left on the Knicks’ board they believed could help next season. Another target, Texas A&M small forward Khris Middleton, went 39th to Detroit.
The Knicks worked out 42 players but not Papanikolaou, who may never play for the club. Grunwald even mentioned him as a trade chip and that he had to improve his shooting. One motivation in not drafting a player for this season’s roster is the club likely will be in the new, much-harsher luxury tax territory and it’s one less salary to be computed.
“We think he’s a good player and think he’s going to get better,’’ Grunwald said. “It’s an investment in our future. He got better over the season, wound up being the MVP of the Euroleague Final Four. We ranked him pretty high. Given where we are with our team, it was unlikely we’d draft anyone at 48 to step in and contribute. We felt this player can grow overseas. He’s got at least one more year on his contract. We’ll evaluate him next year and decide when to bring him over. He’s also a good asset because he is an excellent player.’’
The Knicks still had on their board Marquette combo guard Darius Johnson-Odom and Georgetown shooting guard Hollis Thompson but Grunwald said Papanikolaou was rated as a higher prospect.
Free agency begins July 1 and Grunwald is obviously confident the Knicks will re-sign their free agents — Jeremy Lin, Steve Novak, Landry Fields and J.R. Smith. Grunwald said if all works out with the Bird-rights union settlement talks, they’ll also have a $3 million mid-level exception for a free agent.
“Free agency is important to us this year,’’ Grunwald said. “We want to keep all four of them. We hope to make strides in that area. The 48th pick, the success rate isn’t that great.’’
The Knicks did not have a first-round pick. It went in a trade with Houston during the 2009-10 season. The Rockets selected Iowa State forward Royce White with the Knicks’ pick at 16.
Papanikolaou is considered a below-average shooter but a good slasher and defender. He turns 22 next month.
“He plays hard,’’ Grunwald said. “He’s a good athlete. He need to improve his shooting. We’ve watched him over the course of the year and he’s improved dramatically over this year. We see him as a guy who’s going to work and improve.”
Papanikolaou, who averaged 7.4 points last season, is on the Greek national team, but he hasn’t yet been placed on the Olympic roster. His career high is 17 points.