Petteri Koponen is the Mavericks’ Best Option at Point Guard
It takes quite the NBA nerd to know the name Petteri Koponen. So to refresh everyone’s memory, here’s a quick summary about who Petteri Koponen is, and why Mavs fans and NBA nerds should care about him.
Koponen was selected with the 30th pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the 76ers, and his player rights were traded to the Trail Blazers, and again in 2011 to the Mavericks. Koponen currently plays for BC Khimki, a Russian team that plays in the Eurocup and VTB-League. BC Khimki is currently ranked as the 7th best team in the European club rankings. Koponen averaged 14.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the VTB-league and 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in Eurocup competitions last season, and he’s known for his ability as a great outside scorer and being an elite penetrator, finisher and creative passer in pick and roll.
The Mavericks currently have the makings of an elite starting five. DeAndre Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews (provided Matthews comes back even relatively well from the torn Achilles) is a great list of names for the 2-through-5 positions, but at point guard the Mavs don’t have anyone resembling a starting caliber player on a team that hopes to compete in the Western Conference. The Raymond Felton/Devin Harris combo, who combined for a -5.79 RPM last season (ranked 78th and 43rd among 81 PGs), just isn’t going to work. And is anyone excited by the prospect of the Mavs signing Jeremy Lin?
Koponen, coming off a career year, wouldn’t just provide an option at point guard, he’d probably be their best player at the position. And there’s no doubt he would have been their best point guard in the rotation last year, considering the fiasco that took place with Rajon Rondo.
Out of the players who have recent history in playing at a similar level of competition internationally, Koponen projects as by far the best shooter in the group (though admittedly the list isn’t very impressive right now). During the last 3 seasons, Koponen shot 45.5 percent from the 3-point arc in Euroleague and Eurocup competition. In the 2014 Fiba World Cup, Koponen made 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) of his treys, and those shots were exclusively pull-up shots in transition and off-the-dribble in pick and rolls because Koponen was Finland’s only player who could create any offense on the court. Koponen also shot 82.2 percent from the free throw line and 56.6 percent within the arc, along with 1.3 steals per 36 minutes and the second best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Eurocup Last 32. He’s one of the most celebrated players in Europe, and placed on the All-Eurocup first team last season.
By NBA standards Koponen isn’t a leaper which may give him trouble when trying to finish at the rim against NBA behemoths, and he hasn’t blocked a shot in two years, which isn’t perfect. However, Koponen is long for a point guard. He’s 6’4.5″ and has a quick enough release to get his shot over NBA caliber defenders. Koponen is agile and moves relatively well laterally, so he should have a decent shot at guarding most point guards in the NBA (and hey, the Mavs always have Wes Matthews). On offense Koponen uses that agility with a wide crossover to get into the lane and make plays, which is when he’s at his strongest. He’s got some fast-twitchiness, to his game and is not at all a stiff and won’t look like Pablo Prigioni on the court.
Just watch two minutes of this highlight reel and try and tell me Koponen wouldn’t be dangerous running pick and rolls with the Dirk and Jordan (plus the amazing spacing). He’ll be able to turn the corner, find open guys and make shots at an elite rate when given rhythm jumpers.
Bringing Koponen in, at least before next season is a tougher problem even if the decision in a vacuum should be the easiest in the world. The Mavs are out of cap space and only have the $2.8 million Room Exception to bring him for the start of the 2015-2016 season (plus Koponen’s buyout is sizable). Financially Koponen is better off playing in Europe for at least one more season until the cap jumps and the top international players can be offered contracts by NBA teams that are competitive with their current salaries. Koponen would have to be making at least mid-level money (by today’s standards) in the NBA to be made whole. Of course, if he would take that one year contract and risk guaranteed salary to get himself on the free agency market in 2016, there’s theoretically a way to work it out.
It’s a dream of every Finnish basketball fan to see Koponen run pick and rolls with Dirk, and hopefully that dream comes true sooner rather than later– he’s the perfect fit and the missing piece in how the Mavs are currently constructed.
*Note: Koponen has a buyout clause in his contract, though the amount hasn’t been made public. Credit to Nate Duncan for helping with the cap/buyout knowledge.