Could Koufos jump to the NBA? C&P Canton Rep

[Russ2]

A blurb in an article (by Bob Baptist) in today's Columbus Dispatch states Kosta's mother, Kathy, says she and her son are looking into hiring an agent (which would disconnect KK from amateur status in the US - ending his collegiate career) but that they are just pursuing their options at this point and nothing more.

One of the specific agent groups (BDA Sports Management) they are considering is the same that represents Yao Ming, Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony. The other, I believe, is Mark Termini, based out of Cleveland, Ohio.

Mike Conley, Sr. (Former Olympic Triple Jump gold medalist and father of Mike Conley, Jr - pg for the Memphis Grizzlies) is the agent from BDA in touch with the Koufos's and he says Kosta currently isn't projected as a top 14 lottery pick but that 7 footers who can shoot as well as Kosta from the perimeter are "very, very rare". (This is true as Kosta found his shooting touch in a big way from deep late in the season.)

Kathy Koufos stated they've made no decisions on whether Kosta will turn pro or not..."Not one way or another' she says,'We're just exploring options".

Kathy Koufos also didn't indicate whether Kosta will decide and announce any decision he comes to this week or next.

 

[ArkadiosV22]

As far as I remember, articles in greek newspapers were talking about a total fee of 4,5 millions for a 3 year contract.

At last, a reasonable person concurs my reasonable amounts...

 

[Vasileios Spanoulis2]

At last, a reasonable person concurs my reasonable amounts...

Well Koufos said 4.5 million euros. How do you know which it is? Are you personally privy to the discussions? I mean Diamantidis, Spanoulis, and Saras all make more than that, never mind how many Olympiacos players do. Is it so hard to imagine Koufos looking for that type of money?

And what exactly is the issue here? When a Greek source reports 4.5 million would it not be euros rather than dollars? Why would European sources be using dollars? Are they so lazy they cannot do a rate exchange?

 

[ArkadiosV22]

Well Koufos said 4.5 million euros. How do you know which it is? Are you personally privy to the discussions? I mean Diamantidis, Spanoulis, and Saras all make more than that, never mind how many Olympiacos players do. Is it so hard to imagine Koufos looking for that type of money?

And what exactly is the issue here? When a Greek source reports 4.5 million would it not be euros rather than dollars? Why would European sources be using dollars? Are they so lazy they cannot do a rate exchange?

As long as you have never sited even one of your so called 'sources' I won't believe in any of it...

I somehow find it hard to imagine Koufos stating to national TV that he has a 4.5M Euros offer...

Diamantidis, Spanoulis, Saras and a bunch of Olympiakos players earn more than 4.5M Euros? In which planet?

Yes, it is hard to imagine for a 18 year old unproven player at senior level asking for that money...

 

[Vasileios Spanoulis2]

As long as you have never sited even one of your so called 'sources' I won't believe in any of it...

I somehow find it hard to imagine Koufos stating to national TV that he has a 4.5M Euros offer...

Diamantidis, Spanoulis, Saras and a bunch of Olympiakos players earn more than 4.5M Euros? In which planet?

Yes, it is hard to imagine for a 18 year old unproven player at senior level asking for that money...

Arkadios apparently you are having a mental issue. I mean 4.5 million OVER THREE YEARS. Come on man.

 

[CG2]

according to sport-fm.gr PAO propose contract to Koufos

http://www.sport-fm.gr/article.jsp?id=127513

it is said that PAO offered 5.5m Euros for 4 year contract.Not bad at all.The same article claims that OLY offered for the same years contract 5m. Euros.
this is going to be a hot hot summer

 

[OSCAR_SCHMIDT2]

About this summer I am pretty sure that Koufos will finally come to Greece, although 2 months ago I was sure about the opposite. Koufos seem to be very mature and well educated and I would suppose that graduating from Ohio State would also be a target for him. That doesn' t necessary mean that he would have to stay 4 years at college, many NBA players declared for the draft after 1 or 2 years at college but finally achieved to graduate by studying while they were rookies or sophomores at NBA. So I would expect him to stay another year in college, then declare for the draft (worst case 10th pick next year if you ask me) and continue his life in USA. Imo the arrival of B.J Mullens and maybe certain fears of Kostas about a possible injury, which is not exactly rare for players of his size, made him think again his near future. Considering the fact that it' ll be a bit difficult for him to enter the lottery this year, which means less money and propably less playing time for him in any team that picks him, the reasonable choice is Europe and to be accurate Greece. Big contract, much playing time not to mention that every spot will be on him if he decides to play in Europe (not necessarily good).
As for his team choice, I think that only Olympiacos and Panathinaikos can meet his demands in general. Other teams also can give him the contract he desires but it seems that his decision is to play only in Greece if he goes abroad, life will be easier for him here than living in Spain or Russia. Giannakis presence may play a very important role in his decision, but it is obvious that Giannakopoulos want Kostas very much and we all know what Pavlos is capable of doing when he wants a player very much. On the other hand it will be Angelopoulos chance to answer to Jasikevicius' loss last summer.
YES IT WILL BE A HOT SUMMER HERE IN GREECE....

 

[Minotavros2]

About this summer I am pretty sure that Koufos will finally come to Greece, although 2 months ago I was sure about the opposite. Koufos seem to be very mature and well educated and I would suppose that graduating from Ohio State would also be a target for him. That doesn' t necessary mean that he would have to stay 4 years at college, many NBA players declared for the draft after 1 or 2 years at college but finally achieved to graduate by studying while they were rookies or sophomores at NBA. So I would expect him to stay another year in college, then declare for the draft (worst case 10th pick next year if you ask me) and continue his life in USA. Imo the arrival of B.J Mullens

The arrival of Mullens means that he will be moved to the PF spot. It doesn't mean that he will be on the bench. Most people consider Koufos to weak to play center.
On contrary the arrival of Mullens is a good thing for Koufos.

Big contract, much playing time not to mention that every spot will be on him if he decides to play in Europe (not necessarily good).

He will be getting more playing time in Ohio. If fore example PAO get's Smodis and Pekovic, Koufos will have huge trouble to get PT. In a frount court with SMODIS-BATISTE-TSARTSARIS-PEKOVIC-TOMASEVIC (Dikoudis will probably not be around next year, Koufos won't be playing more than 10-15 minutes.

I don't think coming to Greece is a good thing. When was the last time Greek bball produced an NBA player???
That's right, NEVER. On contrary to Italian, French, Spanish and even Turkish basketball

 

[OSCAR_SCHMIDT2]

Not sure but I think the Ohio coach does not like to play with twin towers, Koufos may spend some minutes as PF but not a whole game. I also think that his future is as a PF, but not in Ohio State.
He will propably gain more playing time playing for Ohio than for a greek team, this is true but I was talking about the case he enters this year's draft and goes out of the lottery, so next year he will have to go to the NBA.
Also Koufos will not sign for Panathinaikos if they get Smodis and Pekovic also, be sure he will go to Oly in such case. But if Pao ges Koufos imo no case both Smodis and Pekovic sign.
NBA players grown up in Greece? What about Stojakovic and Tsakalidis?

 

[GR8BBALL2]

IMO it's difficult at this point to tell which option is better for his development.

Ohio State is a great school, Thad Matta is a very good coach and the big ten conference is very competitive. Kosta had a decent year overall but not spectacular as was expected by many fans. That said, he improved his inside game a lot in the second half of the season and especially the NIT tournament. IMO he will keep improving his post game (especially in the defense) if he stays in Ohio State and become more well rounded. On the other hand, the arrival of Mullens will affect his playing time because it's not easy to keep two 7-footers in the game for 30-35 minutes.

PAO or Oly may be a good option for him and Euroleague is a great experience but nobody knows how he will develop. PAO and Oly haven't developed a young talent for several years simply because they can't afford losing games just to give playing time to some young guy. Maybe in a team like Aris, or Panionios he would find more playing time but then again is it worth leaving Ohio State in this case?

Now as far as the draft goes, he maybe a low lottery to mid-first round pick as experts say. He can work out for some nba teams and gauge his status at that level before making a decision.

In summary although he has improved a lot during his freshman year, KK still needs to work a bit more on his defense and mobility. In my opinion he just needs to keep working hard and stay healthy (knock-on-wood) and good things will come for him.

 

[Vasileios Spanoulis2]

according to sport-fm.gr PAO propose contract to Koufos

http://www.sport-fm.gr/article.jsp?id=127513

it is said that PAO offered 5.5m Euros for 4 year contract.Not bad at all.The same article claims that OLY offered for the same years contract 5m. Euros.
this is going to be a hot hot summer

Satisfied Arkadios or am I still full of it? Come on man you need to drop some of this non-chalant attitude.

 

[Vasileios Spanoulis2]

He will be getting more playing time in Ohio. If fore example PAO get's Smodis and Pekovic, Koufos will have huge trouble to get PT. In a frount court with SMODIS-BATISTE-TSARTSARIS-PEKOVIC-TOMASEVIC (Dikoudis will probably not be around next year, Koufos won't be playing more than 10-15 minutes.

I don't think coming to Greece is a good thing. When was the last time Greek bball produced an NBA player???
That's right, NEVER. On contrary to Italian, French, Spanish and even Turkish basketball

Well I think IF PAO signed him to such a contract then you cannot base the rotation on all these players like Tsartsaris, Batiste, Dikoudis, Tomasevic, Pekovic, etc.

Obviously some players will be gone like Tomasevic, Dikoudis at least. They would not sign Smodis, Pekovic, and Koufos. They obviously would be looking at Pekovic as a center and either one of Smodis or Koufos as a power forward. And Koufos probably makes more sense because he would be a backup to Batiste. Smodis and Batiste might cause another Saras/Spanoulis/Diamantidis log jam.

C Pekovic/Tsartsaris
PF Batiste/Koufos

80 minutes available at those spots for 4 rotation players. That means each player can get 20 minutes. I would think 15-20 minutes a game in Euroleague is doable and certainly he can probably get more in Greek league.

As for this Greek basketball producing an NBA player thing......IMO Papaloukas, Spanoulis, Fotsis, Schortsanitis could all play in the NBA if given a proper chance. I think Diamantidis could too but it would have to be as a defense specialist but he could be a Shane Battier or Bruce Bowen kind of player.

Galis was a US system product so that would not count for what you are saying. But what about Giannakis? You really think he could not have played in the NBA? BS.

Also the Greek system developed players like Peja and Jaric to a certain extent when they were young. I am sure there are more examples. You have to also realize if players like Papaloukas and Spanoulis were born in the US they would have been NBA players and would have worked through whatever struggle they had.

Your argument is kind of like saying "Bodiroga did not play in the NBA".

 

[Minotavros2]

I don't know what Koufos will do. However if he plans on going pro in Greece, before signing a contract, it would be wise to talk with Obradovic/Giannakis and to know what plans they have for him (about his role on the team, playing time and what position they wan't him to play)

 

[GR8BBALL2]

VS 666, I think Minotavros makes a valid point because the Greek league isn't known for developing domestic talent to nba level.

We may rate Sofo, Fotsis etc as nba talent but the truth is they haven't played there or had minimal contribution and came back unsuccessful for whatever reasons.

THe last two players that made it in the nba were Peja and Tsakalidis back in the late 90s that is almost 10 years ago.

The guys that played in the U21 all rookie team in the last weekend, have logged minimal playing time with their teams. One striking example is Pappas (the Mannheim tournament MVP with the Greek junior nt) who has hardly seen any playing time with Panellinios .

 

[Russ2]

On the other hand, the arrival of Mullens will affect his playing time because it's not easy to keep two 7-footers in the game for 30-35 minutes.

OSCAR SCHMIDT & GR8BBALL - If KK sticks w/Ohio State, both he and BJ Mullens will start and play close to 30 minutes a game. Kosta possibly more minutes per game depending upon how things play out.

Offensively, Kosta will play on the perimeter, while swinging inside from time to time to take advantage of matchups, and BJ Mullens will play on the block. Mullens is a more of a pure low post offensive player with a great variety of destructive moves there while also possessing the ability to shoot the ball from 15 feet or more effectively. By being on the floor together, BJ and Kosta would create an interchangeable high/low matchup nightmare for every single opponent next season.

In this way, Kosta would be enabled to develop offensively on the perimeter in the best way possible in the manner in which he will likely be used throughout his career wherever he plays, no matter the level. That is as a PF who has the ability to exploit defenders who either cannot deal with his skills inside or out. Playing alongside BJ offensively would significantly enable Kosta to develop his skill of recognition of this aspect of the game.

Defensively, Kosta and BJ also fit perfectly together within the 2-3 or 3-2 matchup zone which Ohio State head coach Thad Matta used effectively this past season.

GR8 - Your summary of what KK needs work on is on the spot and I would only elaborate upon it by stating Kosta needs to add overall body power and notably lower body strength. Doing so would add another facet to his overall playing package allowig his to dictate to opponents more often rather than being dictated to. His lateral quickness as a defender on the perimeter can also be exploited so I feel he needs a specific upgrade there.

Skillwise, Kosta, despite the progress he made near the basket offensively, needs to get much, much better at powering through defenders at the rim. Too often last season he chose to avoid contact and missed many easy shots as a result, when he could have taken the hits and got to the line. With his touch at the free throw line being slightly above the 70% mark, and getting better, Kosta cannot afford to take points off the scoreboard for his team by refusing to develop a power game at the rim.

Another area, skillwise, where Kosta needs an upgrade is in passing the ball. Kosta needs to pick up and apply the skill of recieiving the ball in the post and kicking it back out to reposition himself for a better shot. That's a five man team skill and can only be acquired through use. Therefore, he needs to trust his teammates more and they him in rewarding him for a strategic move of the mind. I also believe Kosta averaged less than an assist per game this past season. So he needs to become more of a threat in that area, too.

Finally, overall, Kosta needs big minutes to gain experience. As this past season began to near completion Kosta began to show understanding of the frame of mind he needs to be in to show off what he can best do. Kosta stated his improvement late in the season came when he finally relaxed on court. He can only improve by leaps and bounds if he stays in the US collegiate scene to continue his oncourt recognition of strategy, matchups, and reactions alongside the elements of time & situation.

I don't believe he can really make a bad decision at this point. No matter what Kosta ends up deciding he'll eventually become a very good, well rounded player.

I do believe, though, Kosta will get better faster by choosing to play as a amateur for one more season.

I still continue to think a US kid, like Kosta, dreams of testing his ability in the NCAA Tournament at least once if he is fortunate enough to be able to compete at that high of a level. He may not ever reference said feeling but I absolutely think it will leave a hole in his heart if doesn't follow that inclination.

On the other hand I can understand his wanting to earn the big pay day as soon as possible tp pay his mother back for all the sacrifices she's made. And he's very much the type of person to think along those lines, too. As well he is a very good student. Playing collegiately another season is taking a chance of injury. He knows what's at stake so I guess my gut feeling is he'll go pro after a series of moves to determine what his overall status is as a playing commodity.

I wish him well no matter what he ends up doing.

Cheers!

 

[Vasileios Spanoulis2]

VS 666, I think Minotavros makes a valid point because the Greek league isn't known for developing domestic talent to nba level.

We may rate Sofo, Fotsis etc as nba talent but the truth is they haven't played there or had minimal contribution and came back unsuccessful for whatever reasons.

THe last two players that made it in the nba were Peja and Tsakalidis back in the late 90s that is almost 10 years ago.

The guys that played in the U21 all rookie team in the last weekend, have logged minimal playing time with their teams. One striking example is Pappas (the Mannheim tournament MVP with the Greek junior nt) who has hardly seen any playing time with Panellinios .

I have absolutely no doubt that Papaloukas, Spanoulis, Sofo could play in the NBA if they went to the right team. A lot of people say Diamantidis, but his offense is a bit too limited I think but I still think he could be an NBA player if he wanted. Spanoulis has gotten a ridiculous rap just because he had a coach that's not even NBA level. Look at that team under Rick Adelman now. Spanoulis just got a guy that's only good enough as an assistant as his coach. I don't believe for one second that those first 3 players I mentioned are not NBA level. Also Fotsis is better than a lot of 6-10 guys that are in the NBA now.

But Papaloukas, Spanoulis, Sofo definitely have the talent and ability to do so IMO. So just because they are not actually in the NBA, I don't really see the point in saying Greece cannot produce such players. Like I said, it's sort of like saying well Dejan Bodiroga never played in the NBA.

 

[Russ2]

It sounds like Kosta has decided to enter the NBA Draft, per this post by Ohio State Scout reporter Kyle Lamb.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145#s=145&f=3156&t=2372124

I don't get the premium stuff anymore but Kyle hinted KK's 97-99% sure of his intentions. It also sounds like he will not hire an agent until he has had some more time to evaluate his possibilities for draft position. That's smart and the chosen route by most kids in his situation as it allows a player to retain eligibility at the collegiate level until the last possible second, thereby providing a safety cushion in case one wants to re-evaluate a decision.

If I can find out more I'll let you know and I'm sure there will be more information coming out in the news media soon.

Cheers everyone! Good luck to Kosta!

 

[Red Inspiration2]

Thanx once again for the unlimited info updates Russ!

 

[Russ2]

You are very much welcome, R.I.

 

[qiangdade2]

It sounds like Kosta has decided to enter the NBA Draft, per this post by Ohio State Scout reporter Kyle Lamb.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145#s=145&f=3156&t=2372124

I don't get the premium stuff anymore but Kyle hinted KK's 97-99% sure of his intentions. It also sounds like he will not hire an agent until he has had some more time to evaluate his possibilities for draft position. That's smart and the chosen route by most kids in his situation as it allows a player to retain eligibility at the collegiate level until the last possible second, thereby providing a safety cushion in case one wants to re-evaluate a decision.

If I can find out more I'll let you know and I'm sure there will be more information coming out in the news media soon.

Cheers everyone! Good luck to Kosta!

Imo a better decision than to come to europe and a worse than to stay in college. Any clues about which team will pick him? If he's in first round i guess he'll be lucky...