The Denver Nuggets have waived swingman Kostas Papanikolaou before he even got a chance to play on the team, ESPN's Marc Stein reports.
The move was made to shed salary, Stein notes, as Papanikolaou's $4.8-million contract would have become fully guaranteed by Oct. 4.
Papanikolaou broke into the NBA last season after signing a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets. However, the Greek national struggled to find his footing, as he averaged just 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game while shooting a paltry 35 percent from the field.
Still, Papanikolaou did flash signs of developing into a versatile forward with an effective two-way skillset. The 6-foot-8 forward split time between small and power forward last season and shot 29.2 percent from deep on 2.5 3-point tries per game.
The Rockets shipped Papanikolaou to the Nuggets this summer as part of the trade for point guard Ty Lawson.
