The Houston Rockets have added another role player to the mix, agreeing to terms with Kostas Papanikolaou, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.
Rockets have today struck a deal to bring Kostas Papanikolaou to Houston
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 8, 2014
Papanikolaou is a small forward with size from Greek national team and Barcelona and Rockets have managed to import him for coming season
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 8, 2014
The Rockets have been pursuing the forward for quite some time. Euro Hoops reported in mid-July that Papanikolaou rejected the Rockets offer of $4 million over two years after two days of negotiations.
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Stein reports an agreement was made this time because Houston offered Papanikolaou their mid-level exception. Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski also reported on the contract.
Rockets had Papanikolaou's draft rights but had to employ their mid-level exception to finally bring the two-time Euroleague winner to NBA
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 8, 2014
Papanikolaou gets $4.8m guarantee for '14-15 season and team option for 2nd year at $4.6m. He's been in Europe since 2012 draft. 48th pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 8, 2014
Papanikolaou averaged 8.5 points (50.7 percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc), 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this past season with Barcelona The 24-year-old also shot 56.1 percent from three-point land in 2012-13, so he can definitely shoot the ball, which holds huge value on this Houston team. The Rockets ranked first in three-point attempts and three-point makes this year.
Houston won 54 games and was eliminated in the first round of the postseason in 2013-14.