Big Papa is going to be a nice trade chip this summer.
The Rockets can add almost $5 million to the payroll for next year after picking up the option on Kostas Papanikolaou today.
Big Papa has a non-guaranteed contract for next year, and despite showing flashes of promise last year, is likely more valuable as a trade chip for Daryl Morey — since he can be cut pain-free by the Rockets or some other team — than as an actual player in the 2015-2016.
That sounds harsh, but it's true. Papanikolaou underwhelmed as a rookie, and by the time he recovered from a late-season leg injury, he was out of a locked rotation that wound up going to the Western Conference Finals without him.