AT WHAT KOSTAS? Kostas Papanikolaou, who was drafted by the Knicks last year and traded to the Blazers in the Raymond Felton deal, could be headed to the Garden if the Knicks can convince Portland to trade him back. (EPA)
Could there be a Greek revival at the Garden?
The Knicks have offered future second-round picks and future considerations (cash) to Portland in an attempt to regain the rights to small forward Kostas Papanikolaou, according to sources.
The Trail Blazers have rebuffed the Knicks and were asking for their 24th pick in a swap with Portland’s 39th pick Thursday night to pony up the 6-foot-9 Greek. Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald isn’t looking to give up his first-round pick, though some draft experts consider the 24-to-39 range rather comparable in a draft weaker than last season’s.
The Knicks drafted Papanikolaou last June in the second round with the 48th overall pick, telling the media he would be ready to arrive in the NBA for the 2013-14 season. But in desperation, with almost no assets left, Grunwald dealt Papanikolaou in the Raymond Felton sign-and-trade so he could avoid matching Jeremy Lin’s monster contract offer.
According to sources, Papanikolaou, who won his second straight Euroleague championship for Olympiakos last month, is being shopped by the Blazers — at the request of his agent, Marc Cornstein.
The Blazers don’t want to bring Papanikolaou in for the coming season and pay the $1.1M buyout to Olympiakos. Portland has two international small forwards currently in Frenchman Nicolas Batum and his backup, Spain’s Victor Claver.
Papanikolaou, 22, would fill a need for the Knicks as a small forward who can defend and shoot from the perimeter — a skill in which he improved immensely in the past year. Papanikolaou shot 52 percent from 3-point range in the Euroleague. Grunwald scouted Papanikolaou during the Euroleague Final Four in London last month.
According to sources, Portland has received offers for Papanikolaou from others teams with picks in the late 20s. It appears Portland GM Neil Oshey wants to wait until draft night to determine who is available. The Blazers believe if Papanikolaou were in this year’s draft, he’d easily be a first-rounder.
“His strong desire is to play in the NBA next season,’’ Cornstein told The Post yesterday. “He’s won two straight Euroleague titles. If that can’t happen in Portland, maybe it can happen somewhere else.’’
As The Post reported Sunday, the Knicks’ buzzword on draft night is adding “perimeter help’’ and it doesn’t necessarily have to be at point guard. Their pipe dream is for Miami point guard Shane Larkin to fall to 24, but it is believed his agent, Happy Walters, has a guarantee prior to the 19th pick.
With Carmelo Anthony now pegged as a power forward, the Knicks would like to add a scorer at the 2-3. Tim Hardaway Jr., Allen Crabbe, Reggie Bullock, Tony Snell and Glen Rice Jr. have piqued their interest. So has South Dakota State’s point guard Nate Wolters. If the Knicks go the point guard route, they would only take a pure playmaker, such as Wolters.
San Diego State shooting guard Jamaal Franklin also has been pegged in the Knicks’ range but he isn’t a good outside shooter. The Knicks have no guarantee either J.R. Smith (who will opt out of his contract today) or Chris Copeland will re-sign, though Smith is likely to. After averaging 88 points in the playoffs, the Knicks feel they need an extra perimeter threat who can defend.
Unless a superior big man falls to 24, they will rely on free agency to sign a big banger at the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum.
Free agency begins July 1 and they could fill the point guard slot with their mini mid-level exception of $3.1 million, with the Pistons’ Will Bynum as a target. But according to a source, the recent hiring of Maurice Cheeks in Detroit makes it more likely Bynum will re-sign there. Bynum and Cheeks are both from Chicago.