John Poulakidas expressed his desire to play for the Greek national team on the sidelines of his participation in the Las Vegas Summer League with the Mavericks. The 23-year-old star is a second-generation Greek and has already begun the process of obtaining a Greek passport. Once he secures it, he will be able to play as a naturalized player for the Greek national team (like, for example, Dorsey, Wokap, or Mitrou-Long), however, he will not count toward the foreign player quota in the Greek league.

“We’ve met with the federation. We met with the consulate in Chicago. And my parents are slowly tracking down their own contacts. So far, all I can do is wait for them to get their passports sorted out, and then it will be easier for me,” the Yale graduate said initially.

“We’re trying to speed up the process, obviously. I’m focusing here (in the NBA) right now, trying to let my agent and my family handle that side of things, but I’m definitely trying to speed up this process because I’d really like to play for the Greek national team as soon as possible,” added Poulakidas.

The Dallas team defeated the Thunder 97-87 in the NBA Summer League early this morning, with Poulakidas finishing the game with 19 points (5-of-12 from three-point range, 1-of-2 from two-point range, 1-of-1 from the free-throw line), which he combined with 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 steal, and 1 block in 27 minutes of play.

His priority is to earn a contract with the Mavericks again this year, following the two-way contract he had last season, during which he averaged 8.8 points (40.3% from three-point range) and 2.3 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game over 13 appearances.

*Photo source: AP