The Dallas Mavericks selected Giannis Antetokounmpo’s younger brother Kostas with the No. 60 overall pick in this year’s draft, and one prominent NBA figure believes that the choice was hardly a coincidence.
During NBA TV’s coverage of the draft this week, former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin gave his thoughts on the Mavs’ picking Kostas.
“They’re going to want to be a player in free agency and max free agency when Giannis Antetokounmpo is available,” said Griffin of Dallas. “Because drafting Kostas Antetokounmpo is really all about legalized tampering.
“You’re going to have his brother going home and telling Giannis all the time what an amazing organization this is,” Griffin added. “I promise you, that was not an accident, and I will be stunned if he goes away.”
Of course, Giannis is not eligible to become a free agent until 2021, which casts some doubt on if Kostas will still be on the team by then (since second-round picks are not bound by rookie scale contracts like first-rounders are). However, the 20-year-old big has wild upside (not to mention wild physical attributes), so the Mavs have incentive to keep him around on multiple fronts.
H/T NBA Reddit
