While the older brother of a man named ‘The Greek Freak’ might not get the same fanfare as his insanely talented brother, there is no mistaking that Thanasis Antetokounmpo has the talent and skill of an NBA player.
He stands at 6’7″ with a 7 foot wingspan, weighing it at 200 plus pounds. He’s quick, skilled on defense and has thrown down some nice dunks in the past. Antetokounmpo has refined his once questionable offensive skills and it appears that Giannis’ older brother might be joining him in the NBA next season.
Following from Ian Begley of ESPN New York.
Somewhat surprisingly, Antetokounmpo decided to turn down a two-year, $550,000 deal overseas last summer to play for the Knicks’ D-League team, which paid him $25,000.
A conversation with Jackson helped convince Antetokounmpo to choose a future in the NBA over immediate financial gains.
“That was major,” Antetokounmpo said.
Now, Jackson and the Knicks have another decision to make on Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo’s agent, Tim Lotsos, told ESPN.com in a phone interview last week that Antetokounmpo’s “first goal” is to come back to the Knicks. But he’s also looking for an NBA contract. So the Knicks will have to decide if they want to give him a roster spot on next season’s team.
Lotsos said the Knicks have indicated that they want to sign Antetokounmpo to an NBA contract and give him a spot on the roster.
“There is nothing on paper yet, but those are the intentions,” the agent said, adding that Antetokounmpo plans to play on the Knicks’ summer league team.
While things in New York may not be guaranteed for anyone not named Carmelo Anthony, it appears that Thanasis has a spot on the 15 man roster next season. Whether that means immediate playing time or not may still be up in the air but don’t doubt what this kid could possibly present to everyone in the summer league and pre-season.
It’s also good for continuity purposes. The Knicks will be bringing up one of their own guys, their product they had in the D-League all season who knows some of their schemes, system and even how Phil Jackson might work, a little bit. Actually no one knows how Phil works.
Would one more year in the D-League do Thanasis some good? Possibly, but there’s also nothing like learning as you go. Learning on the job, while it might be a small sample size with the team, could be good for him. I mean they did that to his brother and he’s only elevated his game to newer heights every step of the way.
