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I'll believe it when I see it. Rice has a long, colorful history of making shit up.
This is speculation right? I figure we wouldn't do it until necessary, which would be July 1st.
Acquiring their rights was a risk just like getting Rudy or Batum were. Two of them turned out great, two of them didn't. It's an imperfect science.
I am a bit surprised we can't at least get a future 2nd or something for them, but that just confirms there true value in which case cutting them is the correct move.
if so is 1.6m really that much?
how valuable can 1.6m be?
if so is 1.6m really that much?
how valuable can 1.6m be?
Blazers broadcaster Mike Rice stirred things up on Courtside Live the other night when he said that the Blazers planned to renounce their rights to Joel Freeland and Petteri Koponen — two former draft picks now competing in Europe — by the end of the month.
Well, if you found the statement to be a bit confusing considering the strong, flattering statements Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has made about both players over the years, well, there may be a reason for that: It's not going to happen, Pritchard said on Wednesday.
"We have no plans on letting those guys go," Pritchard said after the Blazers' draft workout on Wednesday.
During Koponen's 11-minute stint on the court, Bologna extended its lead from 54-46 to 74-61. Nando De Colo scored five points during the 14 minutes Koponen was guarding him.
Wait.
That's impressive. Petteri played 14 minutes worth of defense while only actually playing 11 minutes. Must be some sort of Finnish time-warping superpower...
D'oh! <forehead slap>Koponen played 16 minutes. By "11 minute stint," I assume they mean one of the times he was on the floor. Came off the bench, played 11 minutes (during which time his team extended its lead) and then went back to the bench. Only to play again at another time in the game.
One thing casual NBA fans possibly don't understand is that 20-year olds never play big minutes in Serie A. Ricky Rubio probably would, but he's probably the most talented kid in the world right now. Surefire NBA lottery pick Brandon Jennings played 17 minutes a game, Koponen 15 minutes a game. While Koponen's shooting percentages were low, Jennings wasn't exactly resembling Jeff Hornacek himself (2pt 47,9%, 3pt 20,7%, Ft 64,5%). Jennings stole the ball spectacular 2,1 times a game, but then again Jennings was dropped out of playoff roster of Lottomatica Roma because he didn't focus on team defence the way Koponen did - Jennings had a lot of steals basically because he gambled a lot, trying to intercept every single pass.
Jennings will most likely be an NBA All Star one day, but I just want to put things to perspective and let you know that Serie A is definitely more challenging league that NCAA would have been. If Koponen would've gone to the NCAA, he'd definitely have more of an impact. Instead, he wanted to play against grown men and believe all his struggles would make him stronger. Just look at another Blazers draft pick Joel Freeland - in his first season with Spanish ABC, he barely played. In his second year, he's among the league leaders in PER. In NCAA, Jennings would've been one of the brighest stars of March Madness.
Nice piece on Koponen:
There's a lot more, specifically about Koponen. His team's owner seems to think the team's main problems were Earl Boykins and the coach who made him PG instead of Koponen, so has decided to fire both!
its not wasting capspace...its following the spurs...leaving these two in europe to grow and mature..then to bring them in as 25 to 28 year old rookies...the spurs plan....
Ginobili, Oberto, Scola (whom they traded away in the end).Who have the Spurs done this with?
