Papapetrou officially stays with Panathinaikos after NBA-out deadline expired / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis Credit BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis

Ioannis Papapetrou will stay with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens for the new season, as the deadline he had to find a team in the NBA has expired.The captain of the "Greens" had made it clear from the first moment that it was either Panathinaikos or the NBA for him. The 27-year-old small forward was not interested in playing for another EuroLeague team and thus he didn't try to find a better contract in the market.

Ioannis Papapetrou

Team:Panathinaikos AthensPosition:SF, PFAge:27Height:203 cmWeight:106 kgBirth place:GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

That's the main reason why he signed a two-year contract with the team he has played with since 2018. For the first year of his contract, he is expected to receive 900,000 euros. The only term that was added to his deal was for him to have the possibility to chase the NBA dream. Panathinaikos, having built a relationship of trust and respect with their captain, could not stand in his way and agreed to include an NBA-out clause both this year and next summer.

Papapetrou was free to explore the NBA market by August 18. Some teams looked at his case and contacted his side, but none of them extended an offer that would satisfy him completely. The Greek international would consider a team in which he would have a significant role, playing time, and also a sizeable contract, while at the same time he would have to pay 500.000 euros to Panathinaikos in case he signed with an NBA franchise. The deadline expired at midnight (Greek time) of August 18, which means that the team's captain will be playing for Panathinaikos at least until the summer of 2022. Besides, Papapetrou himself had shown an indication, as he participated in the first day of camp with the "Greens" at OAKA on Wednesday afternoon.This development paves the way for other potential moves by the Greek powerhouse. The next arrival could be U.S. forward-center Jeremy Evans who has been in advanced talks with the Athens-based club.

Current roster

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

Position Player Status PG/SG Nemanja Nedovic (story) Signed until 2023 PG/SG Kendrick Perry (story) Signed until 2022 +1 PG/SG Daryl Macon (story) Signed until 2022 +1 SG Nikos Diplaros Contract option +1 SG Lefteris Bochoridis (story) Signed until 2022 SF Howard Sant-Roos (story) Signed until 2023 SF Ioannis Papapetrou(story) Signed until 2023 SF Alpha Diallo(story) Signed until 2024 SF Leonidas Kaselakis (story) Singed until 2022 PF Okaro White(story) Signed until 2022 + 1 C Jehyve Floyd (story) Signed until 2022 + 1 C Giorgos Papagiannis Contract option +1 C Vassilis Kavvadas (story) Signed until 2022 +1 Coach Dimitris Priftis (story) Expired contract Mario Hezonja (not coming back), Shelvin Mack, Aaron White (not coming back), Ben Bentil (not coming back), Ian Vougioukas (not coming back) Rumored to leave Giorgos Kalaitzakis (story), Zach Auguste, T.J. Bray (not coming back) Interested Nigel Hayes (story), Jeremy Evans (story)

See all the EuroLeague transfer market newshere.

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