from a philly paper: Euro guard????

[DrReality]

Posted on Sun, May. 20, 2007 email thisprint this

Point-guard search could be all Greek for struggling HawksThe Hawks, who passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 draft to take Marvin Williams, and who then gave ex-Sixer Speedy Claxton $25 million in free agency last summer, may be looking at another potential solution to their perennial point-guard problem. Word is they're looking hard at Greek guard Theodoros Papaloukas, the 30-year-old star point at CSKA Moscow who is expected to try the NBA next season.

Papaloukas is considered by many personnel types to be the best player in Europe, and while he isn't the quickest guy going, at 6-foot-7 he has the size that would give him an edge over other Euro imports that have tried to make a go of it over here. Papaloukas led CSKA to the Euroleague Final Four championship game last month and impressed observers again. . . .

What do you guys know about him? He is a FA?

[DrReality]

From Draftexpress. He was in the final four in Europe.

Looking for an unusual player? What about a 6-7 point guard? What about a Euroleague MVP that comes off the bench? What about a guy who almost always displays his best level in important and meaningful games? That’s Theodoros Papaloukas, arguably the reigning best player in Europe, the direct heir of guys such as Dejan Bodiroga and Sarunas Jasikevicius, a fierce and insatiable competitor, a winner, a perennial hero for his team. Papaloukas was coming back to Athens, his hometown, to try and win back-to-back Euroleague titles for CSKA Moscow. It just happened that he couldn’t get it done this time despite putting one of the best shows of his life in the final against Panathinaikos.

Right after the semifinal win over Tau Vitoria, CSKA coach Ettore Messina showed his concern about Papaloukas taking too much responsibility for this event in his homeland (he joked about Theo organizing travel, tickets, practice, the hotel…), but it was what actually happened in the final, as a huge amount of his team’s offensive load went through his hands, either with points directly scored by him, creating spaces for his teammates with his aggressive playing style or passing the ball to an open man.

Papaloukas is a difficult player to contest. He’s tall and quite strong for a guard, enjoying very good ball-handling skills to protect the ball despite his size, and displays decent quickness. Theo can drive and dribble in traffic, even with contact, which helps him overpower his match-ups. He perfectly uses his size to post up his defender, even beating guys as tall as him (like Siskauskas in the final). And then, it’s a matter of his great ability to finish near the basket (partially thanks to his size), magnificent court vision and an impressive mind to take decisions. The guy always knows when to push the ball and run (either because of a certain play situation or what the game demands), when to stop and play a more drawn out sequence, and when to resolve with a pick and roll play or an individual effort.

Actually we’re talking about a master of the pick and roll, a playmaker that perfectly feeds the teammate setting the pick and rolling towards the basket, often with high passes where he takes advantage of his size. If the defense doesn’t stay honest, he will either go all the way to the basket to score himself or shoot the ball off the dribble. Here we find his main weakness in terms of offensive game though: he’s not much of a shooter, although he will punish you if he’s left wide open. His passing game is not only about two-on-two situations, but he finds his teammates on the weak side extremely easily, he’s very dangerous distributing the ball from the low post (especially because he usually attracts defensive helps), and generally speaking, if there’s any defensive mistake, chances are he will make pay by sending the ball instantaneously to the appropriate place. It’s also interesting to note how he often passes while in the air, a high risk proposition, but he rarely turns the ball over, as his mind offers him quick solutions.

Theo helps in the rebounding department, usually igniting the fastbreak (also if he receives a quick outlet pass) to look for easy baskets. He’s an unspectacular, but solid defender; let’s say he fills the bill. Obviously he’s not the quickest guy around when it comes to moving laterally, which would hurt him in the NBA matching-up against point guards. Neither is he very athletic for a wing. But there aren’t many guys around with his combination of character and skills. In a world increasingly starving for true playmakers, he’s the answer. Will the NBA feel the same way? We’ll find out this summer

[Guest Walter]

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Posted on Sun, May. 20, 2007 email thisprint this

Point-guard search could be all Greek for struggling HawksThe Hawks, who passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 draft to take Marvin Williams, and who then gave ex-Sixer Speedy Claxton $25 million in free agency last summer, may be looking at another potential solution to their perennial point-guard problem. Word is they're looking hard at Greek guard Theodoros Papaloukas, the 30-year-old star point at CSKA Moscow who is expected to try the NBA next season.

Papaloukas is considered by many personnel types to be the best player in Europe, and while he isn't the quickest guy going, at 6-foot-7 he has the size that would give him an edge over other Euro imports that have tried to make a go of it over here. Papaloukas led CSKA to the Euroleague Final Four championship game last month and impressed observers again. . . .

What do you guys know about him? He is a FA?

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I'd really like to see what he can do but would still draft a Pg. If we sign him then we must trade MW or Chill...with either ZaZa or SW to get a big man that can defend. I'm still hoping for a lotto miracle as these half measures to address our MANY needs are tiresome.

W

[gsuteke]

Maybe Billy was scouting more than David Anderson on his trip to the Euro Final Four.

A Euro star is intriguing for one reason. You get a vet, however it's not a vet that is a retread in essence like Anthony Johnson. Let's be honest, with a few exceptions you won't find many high level PGs bouncing around the league from team to team over and over again. Combos on the other hand are a dime a dozen.

Perhaps the Hawks spending some of their cap on a European player over paying too much for an NBA vet might be a good idea since players like Billups are out of the Hawks reach right now in terms of cap room.

[Lascar78]

That guy is nice. He's a great playmaker, and just generally nifty. His scoring reminds me a lot of Nash where he just finds the way to move his body away from the defender and get an open shot off even though it looked like he was covered. There is no question that he would be great on offense with his size and playmaking.

Hard to say how he would do on D though. He is tall and not as athletic as your average NBA 6'6" player. Hell he doesn't look that comfortable dunking. He will definitely struggle against short PGs just like Joe did.

All in all, he would be a huge help for us, because we have zero offense. He can get an offense going even in a coachless situation like ours. Much like DA, I think we might have to pay him more than he would actually be worth in the NBA, but unlike DA, you know he could play in the NBA. I would be very happy if we got him.

[DrReality]

Nice clip. Like how he sees the floor, not afraid to drive to the basket and he's got playoff experience. His maturity could be a huge asset.

And if they sign him, they must be thinking about how to resolve the pg log jam with AJ, Speedy and Lue. Maybe there is hope. About damn time.

[gsuteke]

if he can't play defense BK can't pick him up. think about how many times the Hawks made Brevin Knight look like an All-Star two years ago.

most Euros though are fundamentally sound and for a Guard defense pretty much goes back to fundamentals.

European bigs have a reputation for being soft down low, but we're talking about perimeter defense here.

Hopefully BK has something up his sleeve because what the Hawks have on the roster right now ain't gonna cut it.

[Lascar78]

AJ and Speedy are veterans with ending contracts. If you want to get rid of them you can trade them in a heart beat. Speedy not so much until he plays again and shows that he's healthy.

[gsuteke]

DAMN!

that boy can ball!

[gsuteke]

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AJ and Speedy are veterans with ending contracts. If you want to get rid of them you can trade them in a heart beat. Speedy not so much until he plays again and shows that he's healthy.

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that's what I was thinking.

Trade TLue and AJ. I think Royal with Cheese' contract should be up.

Go with a player like this guy, Speedy, and Crit/Law/Conley at #11.

In fact you may want to keep AJ as an insurance policy.

[TexasPete]

I am hardly sold on getting this guy in a Hawks uniform. There are already 3 backup PG's on our roster and if signing Papaloukas is looked at by our organization as solving our problem then I hate this move. Papaloukas is flat out an open door on defense...you cannot win in the NBA with allowing opposing guards in your paint. In addition, we hardly have anybody in our paint that can dissuade players from penetrating. Papaloukas would give us 4 backup PG's and tie up about 15M to 17M in the BACKUP PG spot.

If the Hawks cannot unload AT LEAST TWO of our current backup's at the PG position then signing the greek PG is a move that is beyond stupid but a move you could expect out of BK nonetheless.

What the Hawks need is a young stud that they can groom, a PG with major upside that has some actual great days ahead of him. If we didn't already have 3 other PG's that we might be stuck with this wouldn't be a bad move. But, what is the market for Speedy? Not much. Lue is probably a guy that has some trade value but don't expect much in return. AJ may have a little value, but teams won't be lining up to get him either.

If getting this Greek PG is all we do in the offseason in the PG spot then this organization is truly lost. This may be just a bogus rumor so I'm not pissed yet. But it seems that with the PG position that we are always beating around the damn bush, never truly aggressively getting the right solution. Getting a defensive nightmare on your squad doesn't solve a damn thing. Papakoulas would be a good backup, that's all. We have more than enough backup PG's.

BTW, the word is that Critt is moving up as we speak. I strongly suspect that Law will be the only PG on the board when we pick at 11.

[AtLaS]

I can't believe BK's still trying to do the all 6'8 team, despite it being shot down in every instance. I hardly like this guy, and it will give BK another reason to not draft a PG, thus still not solving our problems. He's also going to have to overpay.

I heard BK had his eye on Jeff Green, so I wouldn't doubt if he drafted Green and tried to sign this guy. What an idiot..

[DrReality]

From draftnet:

Theodoros Papaloukas 6-7 PG/SG CSKA Moscow (age 30) -- Papaloukas is the top player in Europe today. He would surely be able to impact an NBA team. His vision and passing ability is better than most top point guards. Age is beginning to become a concern as he's beginning to enter the downside of his career and may begin to slow down. If he wants to go to the NB, the opportunity is there, and he could likely become a key role player for a contender, but it would be a big step down from his role as go to guy for powerhouse CSKA and MVP of Euroleague.

This seems to support the idea that he is not THE answer but may be part of the answer.

[ncthompson11]

i say we give him a try. obviously better than any guard we have now and if we draft one he can back up papa for a couple of years.

[AtLaS]

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i say we give him a try. obviously better than any guard we have now and if we draft one he can back up papa for a couple of years.

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That's just the thing, BK will sign this guy with the hopes of making him the franchise PG. He'll probably give him a bloated contract and say the PG issues are solved and again not draft one. BKs mind doesn't work in a conditional way. Why draft a PG when more SFs are available?

[TexasPete]

Bad idea. You don't just collect marginal PGs because they take up roster space and eat into the cap. There is only so much cash that can be used to address a position and we already have 13M invested in backup, non starter quality PG's. These moves by BK all have a consequence.

This guy is not the answer, the guy that we need to run the PG spot for years in the future. He may (or may not) be better than what we already have but what we have now is woefully lacking.

Our GM has treated the PG spot with less than a professional approach and it is time that changed. This guy cannot stop anybody on defense. He can get by with that in Europe but not in the USA. Lets get a real PG this year and stop playing backup games.

[Yeti]

I like him at first glance. We ought to work him out against some of our current players. I'd hate to lose the lottery, pick a big at #11, and then find out this guy can't play D or is just too old. We don't need more backups. If we dump 2-3 of the current PG platoon, then we could stand Critt and the Greek. He might give Critt time to develop.

[Popeye]

If we get this guy than no way we draft a pg with that 11th pick.

[AtLaS]

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If we get this guy than no way we draft a pg with that 11th pick.

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The draft is before Free Agency, so it's possible.

[gheorghe]

"this guy" as you say, is the same that directed Greece victory over US "dream team" in the last world championship, penetrating and kicking all game long without any answer by US guards. I think you kind of disrespect a Euroleague MVP and a top FIBA player, who could give the Hawks a short term solution, you don't have to wait for this player to blossom, he would be a 12/9 point guard from game 1 of the season.