Kosta Koufos could fit the bill as a backup center with the Detroit Pistons. A report this week announced the Pistons interest in the 11-year veteran.
The cap-strapped Pistons are looking to fill out their final roster spot and have expressed interest in NBA veteran Kosta Koufos, Yahoo’s! Chris Haynes reported on Sunday.
Koufos, 30, didn’t have a lot to offer the Sacramento Kings as they made an effort to develop their younger forwards. He played in 42 games and averaged 12 minutes per game.
But there’s reason to believe Koufos could provide a role on a nightly basis for a Pistons team pushing for the playoffs. He’s played in 37 playoff games and had six seasons of playing 71 regular season games or more from 2012-18.
Koufos brings defensive stability with a career 1.0 Defensive Box Plus-Minus rating. It was up to 1.8 DBPM in his limited role last year and 1.4 during the 2017-18 season.
On blocked shots, he tends to jump straight up and doesn’t reach. He provides help-side defense on drives to the basket and clears defensive rebounds at a 27 percent rate over the past two seasons.
His Player Efficiency Rating is 15.4 for his career, slightly above league average (15), and has a career true shooting percentage of 54.5 percent. His numbers are better than Thon Maker, who is at 11.4 PER and 0.4 DBPM for his career. Granted, Maker did show signs of improvement on the defensive end with the Pistons, posting a DBPM of 2.5 in 29 games.
Koufos is prepared to embrace his role wherever he lands, which could be a return to Sacramento. If it’s Detroit, it’s good to see he embraces the “star in your role” mantra.
"“From my perspective, knowing your role, knowing your situation and maximizing your role, whatever time is given to you,” Koufos said on the Kings Insider Podcast. “Whether it’s playing well on the defensive end or getting guys open with screens or scoring when the opportunity is there, it’s just being the best player you can be in whatever time is given to you.”"
Offensively, Koufos is a traditional, post-up center that has good footwork. He’s tough to get around as a screener on pick-and-rolls and has good awareness for slipping screens and getting in scoring position. He also has shown the ability to find open cutters and shooters when his post shot isn’t there.
Should the Pistons add him, he could play a pivotal part in the Pistons playoff push this season.
Sacramento, Toronto and Milwaukee were other teams Haynes mentioned that have expressed interest in Koufos.