By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Georgios Papagiannis was the 13th pick at the 2016 NBA Draft, ending up to the Sacramento Kings via a trade deal with the Phoenix Suns. And as Vlade Divac said, the 18-year old Greek center will not stay in Europe, where he spent the last seasons with Panathinaikos, but will come to the NBA right from this year.
In his post-Draft comments about the Kings’ selections, the General Manager of the club from Sacramento also explained why they seleted Papagiannis and his belief that he might be an All-Star in the future.
“Georgios Papagiannis is coming this year”, said Divac. “I would be crazy if I thought it differently. I watched him work out and our scouts followed him very much. We think that he can definitely be something similar to what Willy (Cauley-Stein) was last year. He has everything in his game. He is just young, he has a lot to learn of course. But he has a lot of talent in him. I am very happy. I think that he is someone that down the road…. can probably be an All-Star player.
We also picked him now because it might have been difficult to do it when he was over 20 years old”, concluded the GM of the Kings.