Papaloukas weighs NBA options

[sturt]

http://www.sbrforum.com/Headlines/NBA/44589.aspx

Quote:

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European star Papaloukas weighs up

06/06/2007 -

Special for PA SportsTicker

MOSCOW, Russia (Ticker) - CSKA Moscow's Euroleague MVP Theo Papaloukas is seriously considering a switch to the NBA.

Papaloukas, who spearheaded Greece's upset of Team USA's star-laden team in last year's FIBA World Championship semifinals, spoke to the Sport-Express newspaper in Moscow about his dilemma.

"I have some offers from the NBA but I must decide whether I should go or whether it's better to stay," he said. "I will decide in about a week. I won't consider any other European clubs except CSKA."

Papaloukas has been one of the continent's biggest stars since helping Greece reach the quarterfinals of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

A 6-7 point guard, he was voted to the EuroBasket 2005 All-Tournament team after guiding Greece to the gold medal, and the next season, he earned MVP honors of the Euroleague Final Four after CSKA's triumph over two-time defending champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final.

Papaloukas was named FIBA Europe's Player of the Year in 2006 and, this year, he led CSKA to a successful defense of their Russian Cup and Superleague titles. He also provided much of the inspiration on the Russian team's march to the Euroleague final in his home city of Athens, Greece, where it finished runner-up to host Panathinaikos.

After receiving the honor as the Euroleague's best player, Papaloukas was voted as the MVP of the Superleague by players in a poll conducted Sport-Express this week.

"It's important to obtain the recognition of my colleagues," he said. "If players you play with or against name you the best player, it's a very pleasing thing. It means that you've really done something that deserved their respect and recognition. For me, it's an additional source of motivation and motivation is the most important thing in sport."

Papaloukas and Greece will try to defend their gold medal at EuroBasket 2007 in Spain later this year.

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[TheDude]

so he has some offers already AND i beleive a previous article said Billy went to see him or was high on him. could this mean we already have an offer on the table for him?

could explain why i haven't heard the word Conley from BK's mouth.

[Packfill]

I hope the Hawks do not sign him. It is inevitable that his poor defense and lack of speed will force him to play more of an off-guard role and the Hawks will be back to square one in their point guard search.

There is a reason why there have not been alot of successful NBA point guards over 6'4".