Pablo Prigioni Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Links: Martin, Celtics, Datome, Prigioni

March 27th, 2013 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Atlantic teams heading in opposite directions met last night in Boston, with the Knicks extending their winning streak to five games, while the Celtics lost their fifth straight. If the season ended today, the two clubs would square off in the first round of the postseason, though hopefully by the time the playoffs roll around, injured bigs like Tyson Chandler and Kevin Garnett will have returned to the court. As we look forward to seeing whether Boston's and New York's current streaks will come to an end later tonight, let's round up a few Wednesday morning notes out of the Atlantic….

Before last night's game, Kenyon Martin told Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com that he and the Celtics were close to reaching an agreement earlier this season. "Doc [Rivers] wanted me and the players wanted me, but in the 11th hour … they didn't pull the trigger," Martin said. "And I'm not talking a few days ago or even a few weeks ago. This was a couple of months ago."
Yesterday, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passed along word that Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo was in Italy to scout a handful of players, including forward Gigi Datome. Today, Carchia shares a few comments Colangelo made to Italy's Il Corriere Dello Sport about Datome.
Pablo Prigioni has recently been inserted into the Knicks' starting lineup and the move has paid dividends so far, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes. Prigioni suggested earlier this month that he wasn't sure what his future holds beyond this season, but if he continues his solid play, he should receive NBA interest this summer.

Prigioni Unsure Of NBA Future Beyond 2012/13

March 5th, 2013 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

At age 35, no rookie is older than Pablo Prigioni, who is playing for the NBA for the first time this season after a long career overseas. In 54 games with the Knicks, Prigioni has put up respectable numbers for a third point guard, including a .402 3PT% and a 13.6 PER. However, he tells Marc Berman of the New York Post that while he doesn't intend to retire, he's unsure whether he'll play in the NBA for more than one season.

"I will play for some team next year — where, I don’t know," Prigioni said. "It could be in the NBA. It could be the Spanish League. I need to go to the summer, take it by day-by-day and think about it. But I [will] listen to the Knicks."

Prigioni, who is earning the rookie minimum, added that when he signed with the Knicks last summer, the team asked him whether he wanted a one-year or two-year deal, and he asked for just a single year. According to Berman, the Knicks are anticipating that Prigioni may leave, and could target a replacement in this June's draft, when they'll likely be picking in the early- to mid-20s.

Odds & Ends: Prigioni, Hawks, Kupchak, Bonner

January 20th, 2013 at 1:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here's news from around the league on a busy Sunday, with one month and a day to go before the trade deadline:

The Knicks would have offered Pablo Prigioni a contract long before last summer if former coach Mike D'Antoni hadn't been so doubtful of the Spanish leaguer's foot speed, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reveals.
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer sees plenty of complications to any return of LeBron James to the Cavs.
If Hawks GM Danny Ferry decides to change coaches over the summer, Quin Snyder and Mike Brown would be early favorites, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link).
There's speculation Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak could lose his job if the team doesn't make the playoffs, writes Bob Finnan of The News Herald. Finnan rounds up the week's rumors from around the league, and chronicles the rise of agent Rich Paul.
Players union vice president Matt Bonner shared his reaction to a law firm's report about its investigation into the organization's practices, and said he's not interested in succeeding Derek Fisher as union president, as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News recounts.

Atlantic Notes: Amare, Raptors, Prigioni, Copeland

December 20th, 2012 at 9:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that Amare Stoudemire isn't quite ready to make his return for the Knicks just yet, citing that he is still "not 100 percent yet." Although he looked active during his scrimmage with the Erie Bayhawks today, Stoudemire feels that he still needs more practices and conditioning work before his return. You can find more of tonight's notable links from the Atlantic Division below:

Coach Mike Woodson says that although Iman Shumpert took part in conditioning workouts, the young guard is still "a little ways away" with regard to his rehab (Christian Red of the New York Daily News reports).
Considering the Raptors' recent four-game winning streak, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun is wary of the possible challenges that Kyle Lowry and Andrea Bargnani will create for the team's current chemistry once they return from injury.
In a brief Q&A Twitter session with followers, renown NBA capologist Larry Coon acknowledged that Knicks rookies Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland will be restricted free agents this summer (Twitter link).
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld notes that Raptors big man Ed Davis has made noticeable improvements and is beginning to progress into the talent that Toronto envisioned when they drafted him.
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston talks about why Jason Terry belongs in the Celtics' starting lineup.

Atlantic Rumors: Felton, Brewer, Prigioni

December 9th, 2012 at 10:10am CST by Chuck Myron

Raymond Felton is glad to be back with the Knicks, the team he didn't want to leave when New York shipped him to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade in 2011. He said Saturday he was "sick" during his time with the Nuggets, as Marc Berman of the New York Post documents, though it's unclear whether he was dealing with an illness or simply pining for New York. Felton said he respected Nuggets coach George Karl's decision to put him on the bench in favor of Ty Lawson, but expressed a desire to be a starter somewhere to Nuggets management, who accomodated him with a trade to the Blazers before last season.

A year later, Felton has come full circle as he's back in the starting lineup with the Knicks, and there's news on another pair of Knicks offseason acquisitions and more from the Atlantic Division.

Ronnie Brewer, with the Knicks on a minimum-salary deal, told Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald that the Bulls never reached out to him this summer about a return (Twitter link).
Pablo Prigioni was content to keep playing in Spain until Luis Scola, his teammate on Argentina's national team, convinced him to give the NBA a try. Newsday's Barbara Barker has the details.
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News credits Mike Woodson, whom the Knicks retained this summer with a three-year extension, with the team's fast start, pointing out that New York is 32-11 since Woodson took over for Mike D'Antoni last season.
With Sixers coach Doug Collins open to a trade to improve the team's bench play, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News checks in with rookie point guard Maalik Wayns, who's been contributing more to the second unit of late.
John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines the impact Andrew Bynum could have on the Sixers if the center returns before the All-Star break.
Howard Beck of The New York Times chronicles the long journey of Reggie Evans from the streets of Pensacola, Fla., where the local community college passed on recruiting him, to his current status as a rebounding savant for the Nets.

Knicks Notes: Amare, Copeland, Point, Prigioni

October 21st, 2012 at 11:11pm CST by Alex Lee

Carmelo Anthony makes his return to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse tomorrow night when they take on the Sixers in their fifth preseason game. The Knicks currently stand at 2-2, but announced today that Amare Stoudemire will miss two to three weeks with a ruptured cyst behind his left knee. While the time period isn't devastating, it is another medical issue for the oft-injured Stoudemire. Here are some other notes from the Knicks preseason:

Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York posts his reaction to the Stoudemire news, reiterating that it is not a serious injury and the time off may help a knee that was still recovering from a bone bruise on October 10. Zwerling also says to expect Kurt Thomas to start and Chris Copeland to make the team.
Keith Schlosser of KnicksJournal.com mentions Copeland and Steve Novak as two candidates to step up in Stoudemire's absence. On Saturday night, Copeland exploded for 34 points in Boston on 11-for-18 shooting and has impressed throughout the preseason.
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld takes a look at the Knicks point guard situation, where the team has replaced Jeremy Lin with a trio of veteran guards that have 42 combined years of pro hoops experience in Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
Speaking of Prigioni, Nate Taylor from the New York Times writes that Suns big man and fellow Argentinian Luis Scola gave him the final push that he needed to come over from the Euroleague and join the Knicks. Prigioni, at 35, is the oldest rookie to enter the NBA in the last 40 years.

Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Downs, Knicks, Hawes

October 14th, 2012 at 4:03pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are some notes from around the Atlantic Division.

Howard Beck from the New York Times writes that Joe Johnson is looking to shed his "iso-Joe" nickname now that he's with the Nets.
Micah Downs was one of the last players brought into the Celtics training camp not only for his size, but his athletic potential, writes CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely.
The Sixers are expecting re-signed center Spencer Hawes to be a consistent force at the power forward position for them this year, writes CSNPhilly.com's John Finger.
Coming off an overtime preseason victory against the Celtics, the Knicks aging backcourt duo of Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni could be an intriguing one this season, writes Newsday's Al Iannazzone.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Smith, Prigioni, Melo

October 7th, 2012 at 7:19pm CST by Michael Pina

On this Sunday afternoon, here are a few bits of notes from around the Atlantic Division.

Rajon Rondo tells CSNNE.com that this year's Celtics team has the most talent of any he's been a part of.
Raptors rookie Terrence Ross will be expected to push fourth-year guard DeMar DeRozan, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
After finishing their second preseason game with a better performance than their first, the Celtics are looking like a very strong basketball team, writes WEEI.com's Paul Flannery.
Being that the Celtics have no true backup point guard on their roster, Jamar Smith has a great chance at making the team if he can fill that role, tweets the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.
Knicks rookie point guard Pablo Prigioni is ready to put his disappointing Olympics performance behind him as he heads into his first NBA training camp, writes the New York Post's Marc Berman.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if the Celtics would be wise to send Fab Melo to the D-League.

Odds & Ends: Hennigan, Fields, Asik, Harden

July 28th, 2012 at 6:09pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Magic GM Rob Hennigan will not rule out Dwight Howard being on Orlando's roster come opening night, says Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins also thinks that Howard starting the season with the team could open up the possibility of the disgruntled center expanding his list of trade destinations or other teams improving their offers at that point. Here's more of what we've heard this evening…

Mark Deeks of ShamSports examines the Gilbert Arenas provision and demonstrates how the Knicks and Bulls could have avoided facing hefty offer sheets to Landry Fields and Omer Asik this summer by signing them to three-year deals in 2010.
Royce Young of DailyThunder.com says that fans shouldn't jump to conclusions about James Harden's recent comments about considering the Suns if he were a free agent. Harden, who attended Arizona State University before joining the NBA, is still eligible to sign an extension with the Thunder before October 31st and could thus avoid free agency next summer.
Forward Omri Casspi is very happy to be a part of the Cavaliers and thinks the team has a very bright future, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News says that Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, and Jose Calderon all gave a "thumbs up" to recently-signed Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni (Twitter link).
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports discusses the challenge that NBA stars face amidst the NBA owners and FIBA working together to potentially re-direct its stars out of the Olympics and into a rebranded world championship tournament similar to the World Cup of soccer. The new Olympic format would involve a "23-and-under" competition, which would essentially prevent many NBA stars from being able to participate. Wojnarowski adds that the inefficacy of NBPA executive director Billy Hunter has only made the efforts to preserve the current Olympic format a more difficult task.
Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW wonders if the Mavericks are improved after their additions this summer (Subscribers only). In a separate piece, Sefko explains why he thinks the team projects to win 47 games and finish sixth place in the Western Conference.
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News writes that despite being teased by his Team USA teammates, Carmelo Anthony continues to reiterate his support for Jeremy Lin.

Knicks Sign Pablo Prigioni

July 24th, 2012 at 1:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 24TH, 1:47pm: The Knicks have officially signed Prigioni, the team announced today (Twitter link via Jonah Ballow of NYKnicks.com).

JULY 11TH, 7:32pm: Prigioni's contract will be for the rookie minimum of $473,604, Zwerling writes. He'll likely be the team's third string point guard behind Jeremy Lin and Jason Kidd.

6:18pm: The Knicks have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with Spanish league point guard Pablo Prigioni, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com confirms via Twitter. The 35-year-old has been "on the radar" of Knicks GM Glen Grunwald for the last five years, Zwerling says. The team has been linked to Prigioni at various times during the summer. Marc Berman of the New York Post initially heard from Prigioni's agent, George Bass, that the agreement had been struck (Twitter link).