Petteri

Koponen

“I am going to talk with the Mavs, too. If they have space for me for the coming season, I am going in the NBA.” He was the No. 30 overall selection back in 2007.

Koponen will have the option to opt out of his deal every season in order to pursue a job in the NBA, but the 2007 draft pick is not a sure thing to ever make it to the league.

Koponen had previously expressed interest in playing in the NBA, but the 28-year-old will stays overseas for at least one more season. While the Finnish point guard could make the move across the pond for the 2017-2018 season, he’s firmly off the fantasy radar for now.

ESPN’s Chad Ford reports that the Spurs, Grizzlies, Suns and Knicks are all very interested in Koponen and it sounds like he will certainly go in the first round of the draft. The Grizzlies may even pass on Mike Conley because they figure they can get Koponen later, but will probably have to make a trade to do so. Ford suggests they could be inclined to move Alexander Johnson and a future No. 1 in order to get a second first-round pick.

There was a chance he could have gone earlier than this and may be a nice NBA point guard in two or three years. For now he’ll be firmly planted on Philly’s bench, but could seem some limited action backing up Andre Miller. The Sixers finished the first round with Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith and Koponen, but we think they could have done a much better job with those picks.

The Sixers continue to go backwards in this draft, while the Blazers can’t seem to do anything wrong. The Blazers now have a stable of young point guards, including Koponen, Sergio Rodiguez and Jarrett Jack, and you have to think at least one of them will be an All-Star one day.

The Blazers continue to pull off fantastic draft-day trades, and while we think Byars has a chance to stick in the league, the Blazers obviously have their sights set on Koponen.

Byars could stick with the Sixers while the Blazers have three young point guards in their stable, including Koponen, Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodriguez. Needless to say, the future looks extremely bright for the Blazers.

He’s expected to remain in Finland for another year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

There’s no room on the roster for Koponen right now, but Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard isn’t willing to give him up. “Many NBA teams were also interested,” Kopenen said. “But Portland didn’t want to let me go.” He added that the deal includes “a pretty good buy-out to the NBA...Salary is as good as it would’ve been in the NBA.” He will have Earl Boykins as a teammate in Italy, and Bologna should have a chance at winning the Italian league’s Serie A championship this season.