The Latest on Petteri Koponen
by Dave on Jun 22, 2009 12:52 AM PDT
Email
Print
Amidst all the talk of drafting and acquiring point guards we get this update from our sportswriter friend in Finland about the point guard the Blazers currently have stashed in Europe: Petteri Koponen.
Petteri Koponen watch: What's next?
Finland national team point guard and Blazers draftee Petteri Koponen (6-4, 1988) ended his first professional season about a month ago. Koponen's team, Virtus Bologna, lost in the first round of Italian Serie A playoffs in a tough five-game series against Benetton Treviso.
It was a fitting end to a month full of turbulence; after winning the FIBA EuroChallenge Cup championship in April, Virtus ended the Serie A regular season with five losses in a row. After game three of the first round series, Virtus team president Claudio Sabatini took center stage and blamed Virtus' starting point guard Earl Boykins for all the losses. Once the playoffs were over and Benetton Treviso sent Virtus fishing, the dust barely had time to settle before Sabatini fired Virtus' coach Matteo Bonicinolli and general manager Andrea Luchi. Right now it seems that only Koponen, Alex Righetti and Keith Langford are the players who Sabatini wishes to have back next season.
Statistically speaking, Koponen didn't do much in his first pro season. He started 17 out of 29 Virtus Bologna games and ended up with 3,0 points, 1,2 rebounds, 0,9 assists, 0,7 steals and 1,0 turnovers in 15 minutes a game with poor shooting percentages of 36,2% (2pt) and 24,4% (3pt). In 15 FIBA EuroChallenge cup games, Koponen did slightly better, averaging 5,8 points, 1,9 rebounds, 1,0 assists, 0,7 steals and 0,9 turnovers in 18,1 minutes a game while shooting pretty well (2pt 56,7%, 3pt 39,4%), Ft 87,5%).
While it looks like Portland Trailblazers don't have the intention to bring Koponen over in the near future, it might be wise to look beyond the numbers and sum up the pros and cons of the 2008/2009 season. Because I have only had the chance to watch three of Koponen's games with Virtus Bologna, I asked some help from my friend Dario Marra at http://www.basketcentral.it, the best Italian basketball website available. Enjoy.
Read the rest after the jump.
(Note that to save eye strain I am not using the gray quote box around the rest of this post. It's all a direct quote.)
What's good
+ DEFENCE
Two years ago, when Blazers acquired the rights for Petteri in the 2007 NBA Draft, Petteri looked like a normal 19-year old Scandinavian kid with his skinny frame. These two years have done wonders with him. Even though Koponen still doesn't look like the Incredible Hulk, he is physically a very capable player and tremendously stronger than two years ago. In this past season, Koponen became Virtus' number one backcourt defender, always given the task to play defence on opponent's best scoring guard. The best example was the FIBA EuroChallenge Cup final: With Koponen guarding him, Cholet's leading scorer Nando de Colo was only able to score five points in 14 minutes. After Koponen headed to the bench, de Colo scored eight quick points in a row and brought Cholet from down 11 to down 1. Even though Koponen probably couldn't hang with Chris Pauls and Deron Williamses just yet, he no longer loses 1-on-1 situations against the better guards in Europe.
+ EXPERIENCE
Winning two championships and an MVP trophy in Finland was nice and all, but even though Petteri was only a teenager, nothing else would've been expected from an NBA draft pick. While the level of play in Finnish League is better than most people expect, this past season Koponen had the chance to face off against guys like Reece Gaines, Oscar Torres, Jermaine Jackson, Travis Best, Allan Ray, Ibrahim Jaaber, DJ Strawberry, Marque Perry, Horace Jenkins, Harold Jamison, Romain Sato, Terrell McIntyre and Joseph Forte, to name a few. While none of those guys have never tore up the NBA courts, all of them are steady professionals who would probably fit into some NBA rosters.
One thing casual NBA fans possibly don't understand is that 20-year olds never play big minutes in Serie A. Ricky Rubio probably would, but he's probably the most talented kid in the world right now. Surefire NBA lottery pick Brandon Jennings played 17 minutes a game, Koponen 15 minutes a game. While Koponen's shooting percentages were low, Jennings wasn't exactly resembling Jeff Hornacek himself (2pt 47,9%, 3pt 20,7%, Ft 64,5%). Jennings stole the ball spectacular 2,1 times a game, but then again Jennings was dropped out of playoff roster of Lottomatica Roma because he didn't focus on team defence the way Koponen did - Jennings had a lot of steals basically because he gambled a lot, trying to intercept every single pass.
Jennings will most likely be an NBA All Star one day, but I just want to put things to perspective and let you know that Serie A is definitely more challenging league that NCAA would have been. If Koponen would've gone to the NCAA, he'd definitely have more of an impact. Instead, he wanted to play against grown men and believe all his struggles would make him stronger. Just look at another Blazers draft pick Joel Freeland - in his first season with Spanish ABC, he barely played. In his second year, he's among the league leaders in PER. In NCAA, Jennings would've been one of the brighest stars of March Madness.
+ VERSATILITY
Earl Boykins is a phenomenal scorer. He was probably the best 1-on-1 finisher in Serie A this past season. Playing alongside Boykins forced Koponen to play more without the ball, which has been his biggest challenge. Koponen has never been really effective off the ball, but this season forced him how to play as an off-guard. Besides that, Koponen had the task to organize team offence when Boykins has his off days. Quoting my friend Dario: "Boykins isn't a true point guard. Virtus has benefited from having a true point guard like Koponen in the 2 position. Koponen can control the ball and organize team offence, and that makes the team more stabile."
What's bad
- SELF CONFIDENCE
During his last season and a half in Finland, Koponen was always the most confident player on the court. You could see that in Vegas summer league 2008; even though his shot wasn't always falling, he wanted to take the big shot time after time. Playing out of position in Italy has been hurting Koponen's scoring quite a bit. It is obvious that Koponen isn't the team's main option when he's playing alongside veterans like Boykins, Sharrod Ford and Keith Langford, but occasionally he seemed to struggle even when he had green light to shoot. Playing off the ball has been one reason, because Koponen has never been a pick-and-pop shooter; in Finland, he had the opportunity to create his own shots and shoot a lot off the dribble. Next season will be crucial for Koponen. While Koponen has faced the challenges succesfully in the earlier stages of his career, his scoring could (and should) improve in 2009/2010.
- FUTURE UNCERTAINTY
European professional basketball is just as absurd as the NBA. One day you are the hero, the other day you are the villain. While Virtus president Sabatini wanted Koponen to surpass Earl Boykins in Virtus starting five, European club executives aren't exactly known to be willing to develop project point guards. The rumors are bringing in American point guards to Virtus for 2009/2010, which means that Koponen would have to settle for mediocre minutes next season. These years will be crucial for Koponen's development. If he won't be able to convince Virtus coaching staff, making it to the NBA would be harder each year.
- PLAYMAKING
This is pretty much linked to the part above, but what if Koponen will have to play out of position for another season? For a 21-year old, two seasons is a lifetime. Koponen is at his best when organizing team offence, sharing the ball and setting the tempo, but teams such as Virtus Bologna face huge expectations from their fans and sponsors. While no one denies that Koponen has the talent to be the starting point guard of a professional team, hiring a 27-year old American instead of a 21-year old Finn seems like a sure-fire option when everyone is expecting your team to finish within the top three. Koponen would definitely struggle in his first games as the starting PG, but playing out of position would hurt him even more. Is there a coach willing to give him a chance?
What's going on now?
Koponen arrived at Finland just two weeks ago. Finnish national team begins training for Eurobasket Qualifications at the end of June. Koponen has the chance to participate in the 2009 Las Vegas Summer League, but right now he seems determined to concentrate on national team challenges. Finland will face Italy (Bargnani) and France (Parker, Diaw, Pietrus, Noah etc.) in the qualification games and everyone in Finland is expecting to see Koponen-Tony Parker matchup. While team success is the most important thing for everyone, playing well against Parker would definitely give Koponen's stock a boost.
According to Portland Tribune, Blazers' GM Kevin Pritchard isn't willing to give up Koponen's rights despite the fact that Blazers is having a logjam at the PG position. While the strongest Koponen hype in Portland seems to be over, Blazers fans should have their eyes on their European prospects. It's always possible that rights to Koponen would be included in some draft day trades, but Pritchard seems like a patient man willing to wait for his long term projects to blossom.
Here's a couple of pics for you, courtesy of www.virtus.it.
25 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Hopefully we can get some value trading him
If we need extra cap space this year it’d be very easy to renounce him after the year he just had (PER of 5.0). He certainly didn’t do himself any favors. With this years crop of PG’s, it’d be very easy to replace him with an early second rounder.
Sounds like you are giving up on a kid that is ....
19 going on 20, has good size for a PG, showed he could compete at a higher level than he’s previously played at while coming off the bench and playing out of position. And one area where he showed improvement was on defense – something Portland surely doesn’t need at PG.
Yep, sounds like a bust.
hakkaa päälle !
by timg56 on Jun 22, 2009 8:04 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
In that case, trade him. He's clearly past his prime.
(Thanks for the correction Ben.)
hakkaa päälle !
tim, this guy was the worst rotation player in the Italian League
The chances of him ever becoming a Blazer are infinitesimal.
Currently playing the role of Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr in the 2009 BlazersEdge Mock Draft.
Were you over there watching?
He was a 21 yr old rookie forced into a starting role – out of position – and the team had a great year.
Boykins looked at the slighly slower and shorter Italian game and said, “hey, I can be A.I. over here”. So, he dribbled and drove and fired away, not leaving much for his backcourt mate to do.
We’ve seen that PK has court vision, passing skills and a decent outside shot. If he’s improving his defense, there will definitely be a spot for him in the NBA. There is certainly a team in this town that could use that combination.
I have been watching, and no usually he was stuck behind Boykins
If he had a starting role, Buchanan and KP would have sounded much more optimistic about his progress. And since he didn’t have the starting role and is not a good spark player, when he got minutes (a lot as an off guard) he was pretty terrible. Jaaber who is an undrafted player burned him on the national team (he has dual citizenship USA – Bulgaria). Some of the players mentioned in the article aren’t good, that’s why they dropped out of the NBA. I hope he can hold his own against France and Italy, but I wouldn’t bank on it. Buchanan said he will not be in summer league to give Bayless all the minutes he can handle on PG. Petteri’s best hope is that Boykins moves on as a free agent and they don’t bring in the next US veteran and put him in front as insinuated by the article.
Could he still be in the Blazers plans? Yes. Does he have trade value? Hopefully. A lot? No.
Apparantly he started 17 out of 29 games played, so you could accirately say he was starting more often than he was playing from the bench. To me he’s a guy with alot of potential and while he’s forced to play out of position alot, in the long run it could make him more valuable to the Blazers if he can come in to NBA and guard either the 1 or 2 in most situations. Those players might not be the best the NBA has to offer, but they’re capable players and most could play like a Von Wafer role on the right team as a scorer off the bench who does little else. For Koponen to be asked to stop them on a regular basis and the general perception being that he’s a “good defender” over there, I think he’s probably as good or better a defender than any guard we have currently so it’s silly to just give up on him because he wasn’t MVP his first year in.
I wasn't expecting him to win MVP in his first year. But he improved less than hoped. He was their Sergio.
He just came into a less than ideal situation, on a team that had other guards in place in front of him. Kinda like Brandon Jennings. I wouldn’t just give up on Petteri, that’s why I didn’t like the rumors of just renouncing him and Freeland. But arguably he is one of our lesser assets at the moment. His stats were nothing to write home about. His best one is probably his assists to possessions and assists to turnovers ratio, a lot else is forgettable by NBA standards – and by Italian league standards (second to last among PGs in PER).
Under the previous regime the Blazers waived all kinds of players. KP so far has just let Green/Wafer “go to waste”. Like I said, ideally Boykins goes away and they give Petteri the starting spot next year.
There is no comparison of Petteri to Sergio
Sergio was a good backup NBA point guard. Petteri was among the worst players in the entire Italian league. Sergio’s PER in the NBA was over 12. Petteri’s in a far inferior league was 5.
Sergio is so much better than anyone gives him credit for around here. It’s like April never happened. The way he and Rudy connected all year long, and his improved play across the board. People are going to be wishing they had Sergio back next year if Bayless ends up getting that role (he’s just not ready).
Seems a bit overboard of a statement.
Are you that well informed about the Italian League to rank every player?
We are talking about a 21 year old who just finished his first season in one of the upper echelon European leagues. I’m not claiming Koponen is a sure bet to make the Blazer’s roster or that of any NBA team, but it is rather premature to write him off completely. Sort of like saying that since you are not ranked as one of the top 1000 grad students in the country, you might as well stop wasting your time at school and go pick strawberries for a living.
hakkaa päälle !
I'm going by PER
which is admittedly far from a perfect stat. Still, having the lowest PER of any Italian League player getting regular playing time does not bode well for his chances.
Currently playing the role of Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr in the 2009 BlazersEdge Mock Draft.
I doubt I'd give him better than a 25% chance ...
… of making the NBA. And that is probably on the generous side.
Whereas I put the odds at 95% or better for you not ending up in a strawberry field.
hakkaa päälle !
that is how Europeans/Brits spell it
Cesium→Caesium
There are others, but I forget.
BTW This is written by an Italian.
Life is exhausting when you are this stupid.
Aluminium?
Do we spell it Caesium because of an a-e dipthong in the original word, and Americans care more about spelling it how it sounds?
Ten players, two baskets, 13,000 people, one basketball. And we will decide what is done with that one basketball.
I think Aluminium is spelled the same
with different pronunciation
I am not sure how the different spelling arised, but they are definitely there. It kind of throws you off at first.
Life is exhausting when you are this stupid.
they must've learned how to spell it
by watching video from NBA arenas, where fans hold up a big “D” next to a small section of picket “fense”
He does look a lot stronger then when I last saw him.
I had low expectations of him after this last season, but this post has perked my optimism up. He also seems to have his moments, shooting over 50 from the field around 40 from three and in the 80’s from FT line. If his defense does show up in games we watch this summer I wouldn’t mind taking a closer look later. But yeah if he does have value to someone willing to make a trade for a decent player or to sign a good freeagent we need to trade or dump him, before Freeland.
"Knowledge will get you from A to B. Creativity will get you anywhere." Einstein
I don't see why they would renounce him to be honest
He has good size for a PG and from these accounts at least is becoming a very capable defender. A players doesn’t have to be a starter to be worth having on the team. As a #3 PG for the time being he could be usefull in spot minutes just with his defense if it’s truly that good and I believe it is based on his situation overseas right now. The team’s owner is basically sacking everyone who suited up or sit the sidelines on last years team, but a player who had horrible offensive numbers is one of the few he’s happy with? That tells me that he’s looking a whole lot better in live action that his stats indicate and one area that’s the hardest to see on paper sometimes is defense. I’d be in favor of the Blazers bringing him over in the next year or so and let him try to make it on as a #3 pg for now and see where that takes him. Scorers are great and all, but you can never have too many solid defenders at the guard positions deep on the bench.
thats what I thought also
Someone over there loves him, I think he has the tools and more importantly he knows how to lead a team. I think thats a hard thing to teach, and given the chance to play in his natural position it will be fun to see how he does. So this time on the national team should be very telling, I hope he does well!
keep in mind that what the blazers would pay for a 3rd string PG is much less than what a european team would pay for a starter or 2nd string player.
Unless he has major contribution potential he will never wear a Blazer uniform simply because he can make so much more money in Europe. Even Rudy will not stay beyond his existing contract if he can’t get a significant raise.
But Rudy did come over -
and at a greatly reduced salary for years. I suspect the same reasoning will occur to other Europeans like Koponen. I wonder if he can attend Fall camp and still have the option of returning to Virtus if he doesn’t make the Blazer grade?
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Shaquille O’Neal is in a Chinese beer commercial, too (VIDEO)
- ‘Deep Thoughts’ and Cheap Thoughts: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- C-a-C: This is probably as close to LeBron James working with John Waters as we’ll ever get
- Dwyane Wade’s hot pink pants: The kind of thing you can get away with when you drop 41
- Lamar Odom to New York? Dwight Howard on the move? For now, it’s all talk
