After signing a 10-day contract with the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month, the team has decided to retain the services of big man Georgios Papagiannis for the remainder of the season. The development has been confirmed recently by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, which is more good news to the 7-foot-1 center after getting waived by the Sacramento Kings before the trade deadline last month.
The Portland Trail Blazers are signing 7-footer Georgios Papagiannis for the rest of the season, league source tells ESPN. He recently signed a 10-day with Blazers after Kings waived him at trade deadline.
Papagiannis was selected 13th overall back in 2016 by the Phoenix Suns, but his rights were immediately traded to the Kings on draft night. He has suited up for them in 38 games the past two seasons, and also had a number of assignments with the Reno Big Horns of the G League. He owns career NBA averages of 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game.
The 20-year-old Greek international has not played a game yet for the Blazers and is expected to continue spending most of the time on their bench, as the team already has a number of big men that are integral parts of their rotation.
He can be thought of as insurance for the Blazers, which gives them more depth in their frontcourt, especially if anyone of their bigs is forced to sit some games. However, should Papagiannis get the chance to be fielded in by head coach Terry Stotts, he could see it as a big opportunity to prove his worth, and show that he deserves to play at the highest level. It can also be considered his time to showcase his skill set, to secure another contract in the coming offseason.
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